These are images one would associate with crisis zones – not with an American metropolis. Amid the escalating protests in Los Angeles against President Trump’s immigration raids and the deployment of the National Guard, more and more reporters are getting caught in the crossfire. According to press freedom organizations, more than two dozen journalists have already been injured, assaulted, or temporarily detained. The suspicion: targeted intimidation.
Particularly shocking is the case of Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi. On Sunday, she was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet during a live broadcast. In the widely circulated video, she is seen crying out in pain, grabbing her leg, and retreating with her cameraman. Later she gave the all-clear – she was safe. But the image remains – a reporter with a microphone, struck from a police line. According to Reporters Without Borders, there have been at least 31 documented attacks on journalists – 27 of them by law enforcement. Reporters from the New York Post, CNN, and independent local outlets like L.A. Taco have also reported violent assaults – a photographer with a large welt on his forehead, a local reporter with a bandaged elbow and a painful knee, a photojournalist who had to undergo emergency surgery after being shot in the thigh. CNN aired video of a team being led away with their hands behind their backs – they were later released.
Press freedom organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the First Amendment Coalition have since addressed an open letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The letter states that federal agents "appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job." A response from the secretary is still pending. Bruce Shapiro, director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University, speaks of a troubling pattern. The increasing violence against media workers has been clearly noticeable since the protests following the death of George Floyd. Then as now, the journalistic mission is often ignored – or seen as provocation. Many freelancers are unprotected, poorly prepared, and often working alone.
"It’s not like a war zone," says Shapiro, "but it requires clear strategies and an awareness of the danger. The First Amendment is only as strong as the protection of those who report."
In the past, conflicting parties often had an interest in having journalists document their perspective. Today, many see them as expendable or even as a threat – or target them deliberately to spread fear. For Shapiro, one thing is clear – "We need them all – major networks, regional newspapers, independent platforms. We need them on the street. But we must protect them."
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