Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 8, 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Targets
- KTLA
- Equipment broken
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
In this image montage, KTLA reporter Rachel Menitoff delivers a live broadcast as the station’s van is vandalized behind her during an immigration enforcement protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025.
At least one news van belonging to KTLA was seen being tagged with graffiti live on air during a news broadcast of an immigration enforcement protest on June 8, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles, California, the outlet reported.
The protests began June 6 in response to federal raids in and around Los Angeles of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
During the live broadcast, reporter Rachel Menitoff addresses viewers while someone spray paints the KTLA news van behind her.
“Discouraging to see this, people painting over our van,” Menitoff said. She then detailed the fear and anger felt by protesters over the immigration raids that sparked the public demonstrations.
“This is the reason for these protests, but over the last couple of hours it’s kind of devolved into violence and chaos, and people have shared with us that their message is kind of getting lost as a result,” she said.
Neither Menitoff nor KTLA immediately responded to requests for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
