Incident details
- Updated on
- Date of incident
- June 29, 2026
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
- Equipment damaged
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
A WBBM-TV station van after it was damaged by a group of men who targeted the station’s reporter and photographer on June 29, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.
Three charged in connection with attack against TV news crew in Chicago
Three men were charged on July 1, 2026, in connection with an attack two days earlier on a WBBM-TV reporter and photographer in Chicago, Illinois.
The crew from the CBS-owned station was preparing for a live shot when two of the men approached, threatened them, directed racial slurs at the photographer and began destroying their equipment.
A third man, William Huerta, was not directly involved in the assault but was charged with fleeing, two counts of aggravated assault of a state employee, reckless driving and leaving the scene.
Prosecutors said Twist approached the WBBM-TV news crew from a tow truck and repeatedly yelled a racial slur at the photographer, who is Black, before asking whether he was scared, according to Book Club Chicago.
Twist then ordered his German shepherd to attack the photographer. The dog circled the photographer but did not attack.
Prosecutors said Twist then kicked the dog before again commanding it to attack, this time directing it toward the reporter, Book Club Chicago reported. The photographer picked up a folding lawn chair and struck Twist with it before running to avoid being attacked.
Salinas then came out of the truck and threw the crew’s camera to the ground, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage. Prosecutors also said Twist smashed the windshield of the news vehicle, causing about $1,500 in damage.
Police later arrested the trio after they responded to a report of someone pointing a gun in a nearby park. According to Book Club Chicago, officers saw Huerta drive away in the tow truck, traveling into oncoming traffic and ignoring traffic laws.
Police struck the rear of the truck, and Huerta crashed it. The three men fled on foot before they were taken into custody. Police recovered a rifle near the truck.
A judge ordered all three men be held in custody, WMAQ-TV reported. They are expected back in court July 8.
The photographer told police that hearing the racial slur was traumatic, frightening and made him think of stories of Black people being lynched in the South, according to Book Club Chicago.
In a statement to multiple news agencies, a CBS spokesperson said, “We are shocked and horrified by this crime, and we are grateful that our journalists are safe.”
The National Press Photographers Association and the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists have also condemned the attack.
“No journalist should be subjected to threats, violence or intimidation because of their race or while carrying out their professional responsibilities,” Brandon Pope, president of NABJ Chicago, said in a statement. “This attack underscores the very real risks journalists continue to face and reinforces the need for all of us to stand together in defense of a free and independent press.”
A WBBM-TV reporter was preparing for a live broadcast with a photographer in Chicago, Illinois, on June 29, 2026, when the journalists were targeted by a group of men who shouted racial slurs and damaged the station’s news vehicle.
The reporter and photographer were near a local planetarium when several men in a white tow truck approached them, the CBS-owned outlet reported. One of the men yelled racial slurs and directed his unleashed German shepherd dog to attack the photographer, who is a Black man.
When the dog did not attack, one man smashed the news vehicle’s windshield with a traffic cone while another damaged the photographer’s camera, the station said.
About 20 minutes later, police responded to a separate incident involving the same tow truck and arrested three suspects. They recovered a firearm during the investigation.
In a later newscast, reporter Jermont Terry said the journalists, who were not identified, were safe. “While they are not physically hurt, what they endured while simply gathering news will impact them for quite some time.”
WBBM-TV reported that the suspects, who have not been identified, may face hate crime charges.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
