Photojournalist struck in face by crowd-control munition at LA-area protest

A freelance photographer was struck by impact projectiles in the leg and face, suffering a hematoma in one eye and requiring stitches in his left temple, while covering an anti-deportation protest in Compton, California, on June 7, 2025.

It was one of many protests that 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.

The photographer, who asked not to be named due to fear of legal trouble when traveling abroad, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he had clearly identified himself as press while photographing demonstrators. The protesters were confronting the LA County Sheriff’s Department after an immigration raid earlier that day at a Home Depot in Paramount, a predominantly Latino suburb of Los Angeles connected by a bridge to Compton.

He documented protesters waving flags as deputies formed a skirmish line to block their advance. Without warning, the deputies began firing impact projectiles into the crowd.

“It’s disturbing, and it’s terrifying,” he told the Tracker. “I’m wearing everything I can to identify myself as a member of the press. And it doesn’t really matter.”

He watched as another journalist, Nick Stern, got hit in the leg, an injury that later required the surgical removal of shrapnel. The freelance photographer himself was hit by munitions, one striking him in the leg and another, which he believes was a heavy metal projectile, just above his left temple.

“It felt like someone punched me in the face,” he said.

The blow left him bleeding from his head, and blood splattered onto his press badge. After getting ice at a nearby gas station to apply to the wound, he said he continued photographing the protest, even as bandages applied by a street medic kept bleeding through.

The journalist said he stayed at the scene until sheriff’s deputies deployed tear gas, affecting him and others, and then he was taken to the hospital, where doctors gave him two stitches in his left temple. A few days later, a hematoma formed in his eye.

“It was hard to miss,” he said.

He stayed home for several days to recover, unable to sleep on his left side or put pressure on his face. A scar remains from the injury. The photographer said the experience has had a lasting effect on him. He now wears a helmet, ballistic goggles and a gas mask while in the field.

“It feels like they just fire on anybody because they feel like they have the authority to do so,” he said. “And nobody is going to hold them accountable.”

In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, 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.”