Reporter struck in back by impact projectile while covering Oregon vigil

Eugene Weekly reporter and editor Kat Tabor was struck in the back by crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a vigil at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.

Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti, according to reports by the alternative paper and other local news outlets. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.

Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.

Tabor told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the crowd was chanting at the base of the Federal Building when a flash bang went off, causing her to become disoriented and hear ringing. As she turned to leave — as ordered by federal agents — she was hit in the back by a crowd-control munition.

“I believe I was hit by a pepper ball; luckily, it hit only my belt and left a massive indent in it. It didn’t mark my skin; I was very fortunate for that. The main thing that left a mark was my hearing; I heard ringing for four days after, and had to get a doctor to check my ears out,” Tabor said.

“I was well marked, wearing an XL press badge and a hoodie that said press on the front and in the back near the bottom in large print. I also clearly identified myself multiple times, saying ‘I’m press! Press!’” she added.

Tabor said she believes she was targeted as a journalist. “I mean, who shoots at someone in the back as they are leaving the area?” she asked, noting that there weren’t a lot of people around her and everyone was obeying the agents’ orders.

She said she did not expect this type of law enforcement response at a protest in Eugene.

“I honestly didn’t know if I was getting shot at by real bullets at first, and I remember praying, asking God to spare me. I never thought that those kinds of crowd-control measures would be used in Eugene, Oregon. I see it on TV, but I never thought my hometown would fall victim to such extreme measures.”

Several other reporters covering the protest that day were also hit with crowd-control munitions or affected by chemical irritants.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.