CNN reporter detained during LA protests live on air

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a day ago

Credit: CNN
A CNN reporter was detained by police live on air while covering the protests in Los Angeles.
Jason Carroll was led away by officers on Monday night with his hands held behind his back, despite identifying himself as a correspondent with the broadcaster.
'I'm being detained… I'm not being arrested, correct officers?' he could be heard saying, as he was taken outside a security perimeter.
Mr Carroll, who appears to have been detained for under 30 seconds, said the incident was unusual because police normally 'realise that the press is there doing a job'.
'You take a lot of risks as press – this is low on that sort of scale of risks. But it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day,' he said.
CNN said two of its security personnel were also briefly detained by the police before being released without charge.
Several journalists were shot by officers using non-lethal rounds as they covered the protests over the weekend, including Nick Stern, a British photographer, The New York Post's Toby Canham, and Australian TV reporter Lauren Tomasi.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, described Ms Tomasi's experience as 'horrific' and said he had raised the issue with the US government.
Donald Trump deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles over the weekend, prompting a power struggle with Gavin Newsom, the California governor, and a further 700 US marines were expected to arrive on Monday night.
On Monday, Mr Newsom announced he would sue the Trump administration over the deployments, accusing the US president of seeking to inflame the demonstrations that erupted over immigration raids.
'It's a blatant abuse of power. We will sue to stop this,' he said on social media.
'The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling. This is a red line – and they're crossing it. Wake up!'
However, John Fetterman, the Democrat senator for Pennsylvania, has criticised his party for failing to call out 'anarchy and true chaos', which have seen cars torches and shops looted.
'My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement,' he said.
White House sources have said they view the riots as a political opportunity that would put the Democrats on the side of protesters and against the views of the majority of Americans.
'We couldn't script this any better... Democrats are again on the '20' side of an 80-20 issue,' a person close to the administration told Politico.
'We're happy to have this fight,' a White House official quoted by NBC News said.
A Trump adviser said the government's response was 'what America voted for' in last year's election, adding: 'This is the America First focus that got the president elected and is driven by nothing else than what he promised American voters.'
Tensions have flared elsewhere in the US, with protesters clashing with law enforcement and being arrested in Dallas and Austin at rallies against immigration and customs enforcement (ICE).
Mr Trump is also using the opportunity to push his 'one big, beautiful' tax-and-spend bill through the Senate, Axios reported.
Republican senators are apparently being told by the president they need to pass the legislation, which is facing an uncertain passage through Congress, to release federal funds for immigration enforcement.
'It's the best BBB [big beautiful bill] marketing ever. It has brought the critical nature of increased border funding and immigration enforcement to the fore,' said Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for conservative group Turning Point USA.
He added: 'Everyone we're talking to in the Senate says this put it over the top.'
Mr Trump labelled rioters 'insurrectionists', prompting speculation he could invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would allow deployed troops to arrest protesters.
Currently, their role is limited to supporting police rather than directly participating in law enforcement.
When asked if he would invoke the Insurrection Act, Mr Trump said: 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We'll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible.'
Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff and the architect of Mr Trump's immigration policy, reportedly greenlit the raids on workplaces which sparked the Los Angeles riots.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr Miller instructed ICE officers to shift the focus from foreign criminals and 'go out there and arrest illegal aliens', to fulfil the president's campaign pledge for mass deportations.
He reportedly directed agents to target Home Depot and 7-Eleven convenience stores, asking for a show of hands and asking: 'Who here thinks they can do it?'
Officers subsequently raided a Home Depot on Friday in the Westlake neighbourhood of Los Angeles, helping set off days' worth of protests.
'Keeping President Trump's promise to deport illegal aliens is something the administration takes seriously,' said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.
'We are committed to aggressively and efficiently removing illegal aliens from the United States, including illegal aliens who commit additional crimes once arriving illegally in the United States.
'President Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill' will ensure law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to keep the President's promise. The safety of the American people depends upon this.'
On Tuesday, a Pentagon official told a congressional committee that the deployment of the National Guard and US marines to Los Angeles, which has been guaranteed for 60 days, was expected to cost $134 million.
Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, special assistant to Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said most of the funding would be taken up by housing, feeding and transporting troops.
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