Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 7, 2025
- Location
- Paramount, California
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- No
Assault
A line of Border Patrol agents confront protesters near a Home Depot in Paramount, California, after an immigration raid on June 7, 2025. Journalist Jeremy Lindenfeld was struck in the foot with a projectile while covering a protest against the raid.
Jeremy Lindenfeld, a journalist reporting for news nonprofit Capital & Main, was struck in the foot by a canister and exposed to tear gas while covering an immigration raid and subsequent protest in Paramount, California, on June 7, 2025.
The protest was part of a wave of demonstrations that began June 6, following federal immigration raids across the Los Angeles area amid a larger immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump. After demonstrators clashed with LA law enforcement officers and federal agents, Trump deployed the California National Guard and U.S. Marines, despite objections from state and local officials.
On June 7, Lindenfeld was near a Home Depot that had recently been raided by federal agents. He said Border Patrol quickly began using chemical agents and projectiles to disperse the crowd of people protesting the raid.
“They were escalating fast,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “I was caught in some tear gas and hit in the foot with some kind of canister.”
The day before, Lindenfeld was also hit with pepper balls and tear gas. He continued his reporting and was struck in the abdomen by a foam baton round on June 9.
In a statement emailed to the Tracker, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged journalists to be cautious while covering what she characterized as “violent riots,” and added, “President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are committed to restoring law and order in Los Angeles.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
