Photojournalist shot with pepper balls at LA immigration protest

Freelance photojournalist Jen Golbeck was shot with multiple crowd-control munitions by sheriff’s deputies while reporting on anti-deportation protests in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 11, 2025.

The protests began June 6 in response to federal raids in and around Los Angeles of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with LA law enforcement officers and federal agents, President Donald Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass.

Golbeck told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the June 11 protest was “pretty typical.”

“Flags and signs, people marching entirely peacefully,” she said. “They had marched to the front of City Hall and there were a million police and sheriff’s officers.”

At approximately 7:30 p.m. — shortly before a curfew was to go into effect — Golbeck told the Tracker she observed an individual shouting at a line of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies.

Moments later, an officer fired a pepper ball at the man at point-blank range. The individual then threw a can at the deputy who shot him, and was in turn fired upon several more times. Deputies then turned their attention toward a gaggle of journalists nearby.

“One of them had that gun with pepper balls in it, in a little hopper on the top, and he just started shooting at us,” Golbeck said. “Some of the balls were hitting the ground, some were hitting our feet and ankles, and it took a second to realize that he was shooting at us.

“They didn’t give us any orders. They didn’t tell us to move. There were no protesters around.”

She told the Tracker that the group of journalists quickly jogged about 10 feet away down the street, but the officer fired a second volley at them and they were forced to keep running.

Golbeck recounted the incident in an article for HuffPost, writing, “Because we were part of the press, bearing witness to what was happening, we initially assumed that we couldn’t possibly be the intended targets. I looked at the photographer to my right, and we laughed at the absurdity when we realized what was happening.”

She added that she was wearing bright blue “Press” patches on her helmet and body armor, a National Press Photographers Association credential around her neck and held professional cameras in each hand.

When asked how many pepper balls struck her, Golbeck estimated three or four and noted that the rounds didn’t injure her. “I definitely didn’t get it as bad as some of those photojournalists who got shot with rubber bullets,” she added.

In an emailed statement to the Tracker, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”

“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”