Reporter detained in LAPD kettle amid May Day protests

Status Coup reporter Tina-Desiree Berg was detained by police while covering a workers’ rights and immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2026.

Thousands rallied in downtown LA for International Workers’ Day as part of nationwide “May Day Strong” demonstrations that also called for an end to the war in Iran and the immigration raids that have swept the city since June 2025.

Berg told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the Los Angeles Police Department responded aggressively to demonstrations that day from the beginning.

“The thing hadn’t really even gotten started yet, and 20 LAPD cars with their sirens blaring come down the street, they jump out of their vehicles with their batons and start forming a skirmish line,” Berg said. “They hadn’t even done their speeches yet. They never even marched.”

When some protesters made their way to the Metropolitan Detention Center, where detained immigrants are being held, Berg said she followed, hoping to film as another march came in from the city’s Boyle Heights neighborhood.

Dozens of motorcycle officers arrived at the scene about an hour later and began ordering everyone back on the sidewalk. Suddenly, an officer walked directly to L.A. Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray and arrested him, Berg told the Tracker.

Berg said she confronted the officers, telling one that Ray had not been blocking traffic and explaining the protections afforded journalists as they cover demonstrations and other breaking news.

“You know what he said to me? He’s like, ‘You are not a member of the LA Press Club. You’re a professional agitator.’ And then he turned around and walked away,” Berg told the Tracker, noting that she was visibly wearing her LA Press Club credentials at the time.

Ray was ultimately released after being issued a citation for being in the roadway.

As the evening progressed, Berg and Ray found themselves among other members of the press, legal observers and protesters in a kettle, surrounded by police.

“They told me, ‘You’re under arrest. Sit on the curb and put your hands in the air.’ And I’m like, ‘The fuck? Yeah, that’s not happening,’” she recounted. “I said, ‘Where’s your PIO? Here are my press credentials. I’m a member of the press, you can’t arrest me.’

“And he’s like, ‘Yes I can. Get on the curb and put your hands in the air.’”

Berg told the Tracker that she was released after more than 30 minutes without charges, but that the experience was enraging.

“I just feel like I’ve been pushed to the end of my rope. The police consistently are doing this stuff and it’s unnecessary,” she said. “I’m really tired of them saying that we’re interfering in their operations when we are clearly not. We’re just filming, and we’re allowed to do that.”

Weston Rowland, an attorney representing the Los Angeles Press Club who was arrested alongside reporter Nick Stern at the protest, told the Tracker that the police response that day showed a blatant disregard for the legal protections afforded journalists covering demonstrations.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take for them to understand that the freedom of the press is well protected under our constitution,” Rowland said. “In 2025 and 2026, it seems like they’re doing things that are specifically targeting the press. That’s stepping back, not forward.”

The LAPD did not immediately return a request for comment from the Tracker, but in a statement posted on May 1, it wrote: “The Los Angeles Police Department fully supports the rights of individuals to peacefully assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights.”

In an earlier statement following the March 28 “No Kings” rally — which resulted in more than two dozen press freedom violations — Chief Jim McDonnell said that any use of force or allegations of mistreatment involving media members would be investigated and addressed.

“The LAPD recognizes the media’s right to cover events and makes reasonable efforts to accommodate, with those efforts consistent with our primary duty to maintain public safety and order,” that statement said.