Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 27, 2026
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Federal officers confront protesters in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. Photojournalist Saj Sundaram was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by officers while covering the protest.
Saj Sundaram, a photojournalist for The Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon’s student newspaper, was hit multiple times with crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest 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 vigil for Alex Pretti, according to reports by The Emerald 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.
Sundaram told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that later in the evening, federal agents began firing pepper balls to push back protesters and journalists gathered in front of the building.
“I definitely got hit multiple times, on the right side of my body,” he said, adding that the agents were aiming for people’s feet and legs, and he was hit in the foot, legs and lower torso, leaving several welts.
The journalist said he was wearing protective gear — including a helmet and gas mask — and a couple layers of clothing due to the cold, and that largely protected him from the impact of the projectiles.
He said he was clearly identified as press, wearing credentials from his publication and holding a professional camera. He added that he was standing in a group with other journalists, including Eve Weston from Eugene Weekly, who was also hit.
A video by Sundaram posted on The Emerald’s Instagram shows him and other journalists yelling “press” as they are backing up while federal agents fire at them.
Along with Sundaram and Weston, several other reporters at the scene were also hit, including Agostinho Da Silva, a reporter for The Torch, the student newspaper for Eugene’s Lane Community College.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
