Reporter hit by crowd-control munition while covering LA protest

Sergio Olmos, an investigative reporter for CalMatters, was struck in the chest by a crowd-control munition fired by police officers while covering an immigration protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025.

The protests began June 6 in response to federal raids in and around LA 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.

Olmos told The Washington Post that he was wearing a press pass and shooting video of a protest a few blocks from a complex of federal buildings when Los Angeles Police Department officers shot crowd-control munitions at demonstrators.

In a video of the incident posted by the reporter on the social platform X, police can be seen firing into the crowd, and then the camera angle moves to the ground.

Olmos told the Post that he was hit with what he believed was a 40 mm sponge grenade. “I got hit in the chest and it’s a moment of, ‘What the f---?’” He said he put his camera down momentarily to check that he was OK.

In an interview in CalMatters, Olmos said that on the day he was hit, police fired more less-lethal rounds in a single day of protests than he’d ever seen.

“California law enforcements are trained not to shoot these less-lethal rounds at the head and neck area because they can cause severe injuries. And you’re not supposed to use them to disperse people. But the LAPD is using them to move crowds back, which goes against their training,” he added.

Olmos did not respond to a request for comment.

When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to the department’s social media accounts, where statements and comments would be posted. The account does not appear to have posted any comment concerning Olmos’ assault.