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“Freedom of the press is perhaps the freedom that has suffered the most from the gradual degradation of the idea of liberty.”
– Albert Camus
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Members of the press take cover as police officers clear the area outside of a federal building as protests continue in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by David McNew, Getty Images
As public outrage mounts over ICE’s actions and the deployment of the US military to Los Angeles, observers have been shocked by the numerous assaults on journalists attempting to cover these protests. The reporters, photographers and camera crew injured by plastic bullets and foam projectiles in LA this past June were simply exercising their First Amendment right as members of the press. Trying to silence them by physical force or intimidation poses a threat to the fundamental liberties upon which we all rely.
We of the ClassACT HR73 Justice & Civic Engagement Committee ask you to join us in supporting efforts to preserve the safety of journalists on the streets of America as well as their right to document this critical moment in our nation’s history.
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CALLS TO ACTION:
To stand in solidarity with journalists who are reporting on this tumultuous period despite threats to their own safety, we of ClassACT HR73’s Justice and Civic Engagement Group urge you to consider taking the following actions:
- Ask your representatives and senators in Washington to make sure that the constitutional and state protections that exist for journalists are respected and strengthened.
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- Here is a link to the telephone numbers of House of Representative members
- Here is a link to the phone numbers of all one hundred U.S. Senators
- Spread the word about assaults on journalists and other threats to freedom of the press by forwarding this ClassACTion alert to five or more people and/or post it on your social media platform.
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BACKGROUND:
More than two dozen journalists were injured or roughed up while covering the LA demonstrations that began June 6 to protest the immigration raids launched by ICE agents. The protests grew after June 7, when President Trump authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops despite California Governor Gavin Newsom’s refusal to approve that decision. As the protests swelled, reaching an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 by June 14, Trump sent 700 Marines—federal troops—to the scene on June 9.
While most of the demonstrations were reported to be peaceful, a minority of protesters engaged in violent clashes. During the June 6 protests near LA’s federal buildings, some protesters threw objects at local police officers, who responded by dispersing tear gas and using their batons. Journalists from local stations and newspapers, national media, and foreign broadcast companies were on the scene to report on the escalating confrontation.
“In this country, for the most part, journalism and journalists have been respected,” said Mekahlo Medina, an anchor and reporter for NBC4News in Los Angeles. His crew was hit during the demonstrations with pellet projectiles, even though they wore vests that were clearly marked “Press.” “It’s part of our constitution – freedom of the press. It’s embedded in who we are every day from day one. The government is trying to keep us [journalists] from doing our job. I think it should be a red flag for a lot of people.”
Over the next six days as many as 35 journalists were hit by rubber bullets and other projectiles or by pepper spray fired by local and federal officers attempting to disperse the crowds, according to the Los Angeles Press Club. Human Rights Watch, the global non-profit that investigates human rights abuses, later wrote that their investigators “documented 39 cases of journalists injured by law enforcement, most of whom were holding cameras and wearing visible press credentials. Several appear to have been deliberately targeted.”
In response, organizations such as PEN America that advocate for the rights of the press have condemned these strikes against journalists. PEN America, along with 28 other organizations such as the Freedom of the Press Foundation, signed a June 9 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging her to make sure that federal forces “refrain from any unlawful, indiscriminate, and excessive use of force against members of the press and public.” The letter stated that “In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.”
Some of the most high-profile incidents that sparked international coverage and condemnation include:
Press advocacy groups and some political and cultural observers see these recent assaults as an escalation of attacks on journalists across the globe as well as here at home. For the press in the United States, the worst years were 2020 and 2021 during the protests against George Floyd’s murder. Nearly 800 assaults occurred during that period, according to the US Press Freedom Tracker. However, “more than 90 assaults of journalists we’ve documented so far in 2025 represent the third highest annual number in our data base – and the year isn’t even over,” compilers of the Tracker concluded.
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The international watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks the United States 57th out of 180 countries on its World Press Freedom Index for 2025, down two places from the previous year. That score earns the US a rating of “problematic” based on such criteria as political context, legal framework and safety. RSF joined 24 other press organizations last June 11 to send a letter to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department protesting the assaults on Tomasi and Canham.
“The wave of violence against journalists on the streets of Los Angeles this weekend is unacceptable. These protests are a matter of huge public interest and the public has a right to know exactly what’s going on. The only way that can happen is if journalists are allowed to do their jobs freely,” Clayton Weimers, the Executive Director of RSF USA said in a statement.
“This is inherently dangerous work, but it’s made more dangerous by authorities who are unable or unwilling to distinguish press from protestors, and by private actors who attack members of the media. Authorities in LA must do more to ensure press freedom is respected during these protests.”
In response to the attacks, the Los Angeles Press Club filed a lawsuit in US District Court against the LA Police Department. The advocacy organization documented 35 instances when police launched projectiles, tear gas and other forms of coercion against journalists or kept them entering from public areas. On July 11 Judge Hernán D. Vera issued a temporary restraining order telling the department to cease its use of foam projectiles, tear gas and flash-bang devices. The plaintiffs are currently seeking a permanent order.
These pleas for protecting journalists and the First Amendment have been voiced by organizations with a longstanding reputation for promoting freedom and democracy across the globe. Freedom House, which has tracked threats to democracy and human rights since 1941, has argued:
A free and independent media sector that can keep the population informed and hold leaders to account is as crucial for a strong and sustainable democracy as free and fair elections. Without it, citizens cannot make informed decisions about how they are ruled, and abuse of power, which is all but inevitable in any society, cannot be exposed and corrected.
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OTHER RESOURCES + OPINIONS:
“‘Get ready’: LA journalists warn of potential violence against press ahead of nationwide protests,” Committee to Protect Journalists, June 13, 2025
“Journalists Come Under Fire Covering L.A. Protests,” Washington Post, June 10, 2025
“Judge Orders Los Angeles Police to Stop Shooting Projectiles at Journalists,” New York Times, July 11, 2025
“PEN America Condemns Attacks on Journalists Covering Los Angeles Protests,” PEN America, June 9, 2025
“Police, Protesters, and the Press,” Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
“US: Excessive Force Against LA Protesters,” Human Rights Watch, August 18, 2025
“U.S. Press Freedom Tracker,” Freedom of the Press Foundation, 2025
“USA: RSF condemns wave of violence against journalists covering Los Angeles protests,” Reporters Without Borders, June 11, 2025
“World Press Freedom Continues Decline at a Time of Upheaval,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 2, 2025
September, 2025
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