Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 10, 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Targets
- Gabriel Ovalle (Channel 5)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
Police block a street during a protest on June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Gabriel Ovalle, an editor and camera operator for Channel 5, was struck with a crowd-control munition while covering a protest that day.
Gabriel Ovalle, an editor and camera operator for digital media outlet Channel 5, was struck with a crowd-control munition fired by a Los Angeles Police Department officer while covering an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 10, 2025.
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.
Channel 5 said on the social platform X June 10 that Ovalle was shot with a “rubber bullet” while documenting the protests, posting a photo of Ovalle’s injury and video of the moment he was hit.
It added, “Whether or not the LAPD is explicitly targeting the press, the press is getting caught in the crossfire.”
A federal lawsuit filed by the LA Press Club and outlet Status Coup against the city and the LAPD chief on June 16 alleged that the department was using excessive force against journalists covering the protests and violating their rights to document public events. The suit cited Ovalle as one example, stating that he had been struck by crowd-control munitions fired by LAPD officers on June 10.
When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to the department’s social media accounts, where statements and comments would be posted. The account does not appear to have posted any comment concerning Ovalle.
Ovalle and Channel 5 did not respond to requests for further information at publication time.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
