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Dozens Of Journalists Targeted, Shot, Detained While Covering LA Protests, Press Org Says

Dozens Of Journalists Targeted, Shot, Detained While Covering LA Protests, Press Org Says

Yahoo4 days ago

Shocking video and photos taken amid the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles show journalists and news crews being shot, detained and forced off public property by law enforcement, raising concerns of excessive force and First Amendment rights violations.
There have been more than 30 incidents of police violence against journalists as of Tuesday, including 20 injuries, at least five of which required emergency room or urgent care visits, said Adam Rose, the press rights chair with the Los Angeles Press Club, which released a statement Monday urging an end to the targeting of journalists whose work is constitutionally protected.
The list of injuries includes a freelance photojournalist requiring emergency surgery Sunday night after being shot in the leg with a three-inch piece of plastic that he believes was designed to be shot and explode above a crowd.
Graphic photos shared with HuffPost show a gaping wound in Nick Stern's right thigh that he said has left him unable to walk or move without assistance.
'Why this device was shot at human, kind of, waist high level, I do not know. The people around me at that time was doing nothing more than waving Mexican flags,' he told HuffPost.
Stern, who said he has three decades of experience photographing public protests, including in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the George Floyd protests in 2020, expressed concern that people may die from the excessive use of force that he witnessed and experienced firsthand.
'I never thought for one moment that I'd actually have to be fearful of law enforcement during a public protest but that seems to be where the danger to journalists comes from,' he said.
Also Sunday, photographer Toby Canham said he was shot in the forehead with a rubber bullet while snapping pictures of law enforcement gathered along a highway.
The British Army veteran, who was on assignment for the New York Post, photographed the projectile flying at him split seconds before it hit him in the head. He was treated for whiplash and neck pain at a local hospital Monday, the Post reported.
'It's a real shame. I completely understand being in the position where you could get injured, but at the same time, there was no justification for even aiming the rifle at me and pulling the trigger, so I'm a bit pissed off about that, to be honest,' he told the paper, while sharing photos of his bloodied head.
Australian broadcast journalist Lauren Tomasi had just finished reporting live from Los Angeles' downtown area on Sunday when her news outlet, 9 News, reported that an officer turned his gun toward her and fired a rubber bullet from close range. Video shows Tomasi jumping and yelling in pain.
U.S. Correspondent Lauren Tomasi has been caught in the crossfire as the LAPD fired rubber bullets at protesters in the heart of Los Angeles. #9NewsLATEST: https://t.co/l5w7JxixxBpic.twitter.com/nvQ7m9TGLj
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 9, 2025
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs immediately joined in on condemning the shooting, stating 'that all journalists should be able to do their work safely.'
CNN's Jason Carroll was also reporting live from the scene on Monday when cameras captured him being detained by officers with his hands bound behind his back. Another video posted by reporter Sergio Olmos shows Carroll and a videographer being violently shoved by police while they're standing along a sidewalk.
Similar videos posted on social media show journalists being shoved, shot and pushed out of public areas despite audibly identifying themselves as members of the press.
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A post shared by NBCLA (@nbcla)
Homeland Security agents shot me and other journalists with pepper ball bullets yesterday in Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/2JX28M69QO
— @ryannemena.bsky.social (@ryannemena) June 7, 2025
The LA Press Club joined several press freedom organizations Monday expressing concern to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that federal officers are violating journalists' First Amendment rights while they cover the protests.
'In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news,' a letter addressed to Noem by the organizations states.
'Under the First Amendment, journalists who are merely reporting on events and not interfering with federal operations cannot be subject to general dispersal orders and 'cannot be punished for the violent acts of others,' and the 'proper response' to any unlawful conduct is 'to arrest those who actually engage in such conduct, rather than to suppress legitimate First Amendment conduct as a prophylactic measure,'' the letter continues.
Rose told HuffPost they have not received a response from DOH as of Tuesday. Noem's office also did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment.
Trump Sets National Guard On Los Angeles As Protesters Counter Immigration Raids: Live Updates
CNN Journalist Reports On Being 'Detained' By Police As It Happens
Reporter Gets Hit By Rubber Bullet At LA Protest, Sparking Shock Allegation
FBI Puts LA Protester On 'Most Wanted' List As Government Threatens Crackdown

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Live Updates: Manhunt for Minnesota Assassin Enters 2nd Day as State Mourns Victims
Live Updates: Manhunt for Minnesota Assassin Enters 2nd Day as State Mourns Victims

New York Times

time16 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Live Updates: Manhunt for Minnesota Assassin Enters 2nd Day as State Mourns Victims

The police have said that the suspect in Saturday's attacks, Vance Boelter, 57, disguised himself as a police officer before going to the homes of two state lawmakers in the Minneapolis suburbs. The man suspected of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early on Saturday had served on a state board with one of the victims, records show. The suspect identified by the authorities, Vance Boelter, 57, was appointed several times by Minnesota governors to the Workforce Development Board, where he served with State Senator John A. Hoffman, who was shot and survived. Mr. Boelter and Senator Hoffman attended a virtual meeting together in 2022 for a discussion about the job market in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, minutes from the meeting show. Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said investigators did not yet know how well the two knew each other, if at all. Mr. Boelter was appointed to the board in 2016 by Mark Dayton, a Democrat who was then the governor. More recently, he was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz, also a Democrat. The board has 41 members who are appointed by the governor, and its goal is to improve business development in the state. A state report in 2016 listed Mr. Boelter's political affiliation as 'none or other,' and another report in 2020 listed him as having 'no party preference.' Voters do not declare political affiliation when they register in Minnesota. The police have said that the suspect in the attacks disguised himself as a police officer and went to the homes of two state lawmakers in the Minneapolis suburbs. He shot and wounded Senator Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, and fatally shot State Representative Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark. He remains on the run. U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota, said in an interview that the gunman had a list that included her name and the names of other lawmakers, all of whom were Democrats. The list included about 70 potential targets, a federal law enforcement official said, including doctors, community and business leaders, and locations for Planned Parenthood and other health care centers. Some of the targets were in neighboring states. Image A State Patrol helicopter flies near a home where a search warrant was executed in Minneapolis on Saturday. Credit... Tim Gruber for The New York Times David Carlson lives at an address in Minneapolis where the police executed a search warrant for Mr. Boelter and said he has been one of his best friends since fourth grade. Mr. Boelter's listed address is in Green Isle, Minn., about an hour's drive away. Mr. Carlson said that Mr. Boelter also rented a room in the same home as him, and stayed there several days a week. Mr. Boelter worked at a funeral home, owned guns and had voted for President Trump last year, he said. Mr. Carlson read a text message that he had received from Mr. Boelter early on Saturday morning, in which he wrote that he might be dead soon. The message did not describe any details of the attacks, Mr. Carlson said. On Friday, Mr. Boelter had given Mr. Carlson four months' worth of advance rent payments — which was about $220 a month — for a small room in the shared house. He had said he needed some rest and so Mr. Carlson left him alone. Mr. Carlson said Mr. Boelter is a Christian who strongly opposed abortion. He had never mentioned either of the lawmakers who were shot, Mr. Carlson said, and had generally avoided talking about politics. He said Mr. Boelter had been experiencing financial and mental health challenges. Mr. Boelter and his wife run a private security company in Minnesota, according to its website. The company, Praetorian Guard Security Services, lists Mr. Boelter as the director of security patrols and his wife as the president. The firm's website describes using Ford Explorer S.U.V.s, 'the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use.' On Saturday afternoon, the police towed a Ford Explorer from outside Representative Hortman's home. The firm says it offers only armed security. 'If you are looking for unarmed guards, please work with another service to meet your needs better,' the website says. Image The police towing a Ford Explorer that they said the suspect used from near Representative Melissa Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park, Minn., on Saturday. Credit... Tim Gruber for The New York Times Mr. Boelter's public professional history is varied. State reports and his LinkedIn profile indicate that he was recently a general manager of a 7-Eleven in Minneapolis and, before that, had worked as the general manager of a gas station in St. Paul. 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It was not clear when the video was uploaded, but Mr. Boelter said he worked six days a week for two funeral homes in the Minneapolis area. At one, he said, he sometimes helped to remove bodies from crime scenes and would work with police officers and death investigators. A spokesman for Des Moines Area Community College, in Iowa, said Mr. Boelter took classes in the school's mortuary science program, an online program, in 2023 and 2024. The website for Mr. Boelter's security company makes expansive claims about his work experience, which could not immediately be verified, including that he had been 'involved with security situations' in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and that he had worked for 'the largest U.S. oil refining company, the world's largest food company based in Switzerland and the world's largest convenience retailer based in Japan.' Image Sweeping the neighborhood near the home of Ms. Hortman in Brooklyn Park, Minn., on Saturday. Credit... Tim Gruber for The New York Times I.R.S. tax forms show that Mr. Boelter and his wife once led a Christian nonprofit called Revoformation Ministries. An archived version of the group's website described Mr. Boelter as becoming an ordained minister in 1993. Mr. Boelter, the site said, had traveled previously to violent areas 'in the Gaza Strip and West Bank,' the site said, and had 'sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.' In November 2018, Mr. Boelter urged his followers on LinkedIn to vote in that year's election, saying he had been to countries where people could not elect their leaders and that were 'not places that anyone of us would want to live in.' 'I am very big on just telling people to be a part of the process and vote your values,' he wrote, 'and be part of this adventure we are all a part of living in the United States of America.' 'I think the election is going to have more of an impact on the direction of our country than probably any election we have been apart of, or will be apart of for years to come,' he continued. One of the victims on Saturday's attacks, Ms. Hortman, ran successfully for re-election that year. Julie Bosman , Kevin Draper , Adam Goldman , Bernard Mokam and Jay Senter contributed reporting. Jack Begg and Kitty Bennett contributed research.

Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan name-dropped in Diddy's trial as prosecution nears end of testimony
Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan name-dropped in Diddy's trial as prosecution nears end of testimony

Fox News

time31 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan name-dropped in Diddy's trial as prosecution nears end of testimony

As prosecutors neared the end of their witness list in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial, multiple celebrities were mentioned in court. Sports legends Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal were mentioned during the fifth week of trial testimony in the rapper's sex trafficking and racketeering case. Diddy's trial began May 12 with opening statements. Throughout the past week of testimony, the jury mostly heard from the disgraced music mogul's ex-girlfriend. Testifying under the pseudonym "Jane," she told the jury about her relationship with the rapper beginning in 2021. Jane detailed drug-fueled nights when Diddy allegedly forced her into having sex with male escorts while he watched. Here's a look at the celebrities mentioned in court. Diddy's ex-girlfriend mentioned three basketball superstars during her testimony Tuesday. Jane, testifying under a pseudonym, told the jury she used nicknames to sometimes refer to Diddy and a male escort named Paul during the trio's alleged "hotel nights." "Trifecta," was one nickname. Jane explained they used it "because it's three." "I think Sean was the one who said trifecta," Jane testified. "And then it became trifecta." Jane also testified that they gave each other nicknames relating to famous sports stars Kobe Bryant, Shaq and Michael Jordan. Jane was Bryant, Diddy was Jordan and the male escort was often referred to as Shaq, according to her testimony. Jane testified that she went to another man's "freak off" in January 2024 while on a break from their relationship. That man was an "icon in the music industry," according to Jane. The "very successful rapper," who was unidentified during testimony, invited Jane to travel to Las Vegas for his girlfriend's birthday. 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"Yeah, it was definitely not something that I signed up for," Jane told the court. "I didn't sign up to date a man that was in a public relationship." Diddy's former assistant, David James, testified May 20 that the rapper typically carried "25 to 30" undisclosed pill bottles. According to James, some of the pills were ecstasy. "Can you describe the ecstasy that you saw him taking?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Slavik asked. "There were various pills, but there was one that was in the shape of a former president's face," James explained. "Which former president?" the prosecutor questioned. "President Obama," James answered. Former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard testified Usher was at a dinner where Sean "Diddy" Combs allegedly punched Cassie Ventura in the stomach. "We were having a private conversation, and we were all sitting, eating at the tables together," Richard recalled during her testimony. "When I say we, I mean some Bad Boy, some of our other label and even some celebrities were in the room. And they were secretly arguing, and he punched her in the stomach. Sean Combs punched her in the stomach. "She immediately bent over and then was — he was — he told her to leave because I could see him point out, and she went out and left the room." Richard claimed music executive Harve Pierre, two of Diddy's assistants, the rapper's security and Kalenna Harper were present for the West Hollywood dinner. During cross-examination, it was revealed that Richard hadn't mentioned all of the celebrities at the dinner. "Usher was there. Jimmy Iovine was there. Ne-Yo came through," Richard eventually added. "There were a few others, too. I don't recall those people, but those are the ones I remember talking to." Diddy's former executive assistant, Capricorn Clark, mentioned both Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey during her testimony May 27. Clark claimed she thought Diddy's ex, Cassie Ventura, was talented but was more of a studio artist. "Why do you think she just had talent as opposed to being very talented?" Diddy's lawyer asked the ex-assistant. "Um, talented to me is Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey," Clark said. "Very talented is that level of performer, entertainer. Cassie was more of a studio artist." Clark described a studio artist as "a little bit more comfortable in the vocal booth to have a little bit of things equalized for you and, you know, engineered properly. Less of a live performer."

Legal immigrant sees small business boom after opening doors to police injured during anti-ICE riots
Legal immigrant sees small business boom after opening doors to police injured during anti-ICE riots

Fox News

time31 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Legal immigrant sees small business boom after opening doors to police injured during anti-ICE riots

LOS ANGELES – A restaurant owner outside Los Angeles is opening up about her decision to help police officers who were tear-gassed during riots outside her business June 7. Elizabeth Mendoza is the owner of La Ceiba Restaurant, a Salvadoran eatery in Long Beach, who told Fox News Digital she welcomed both police and protesters who entered her business seeking help after being pepper-sprayed that Saturday afternoon. "I feel sad because my city … it's a good city," she said. "My people is honest. My people have to work a lot. I'm here for 14 years. I know my people, and I feel bad … when I saw the police. The police need my help, too, because they are human like me. They feel everything like me. "They have to … work," she said, adding she has received thanks from police for helping officers that day Mendoza initially said her restaurant had suffered because the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and police presence in the area made people "scared" to walk around. But now her business is thriving due to the positive attention she has received nationally for helping officers. She has been living in the United States for more than 30 years and is a legal U.S. citizen. The business owner said the recent riots and ICE raids have made her "sad" because immigrants like her want "peace" and "work" in the United States. While outsiders have treated what she described as her "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant with respect, Mendoza called on protesters to condemn violence against other local businesses. "Everything is OK. I want to say that protest is good," she said. "But no[t] something bad — the street, the windows. Please, don't do that." Protests escalated in the Los Angeles area beginning June 6 and June 7, when ICE raids began across the county, resulting in hundreds of illegal immigrant arrests. The Department of Homeland Security shared information with Fox News about some of the most violent offenders arrested by ICE those two days. Rioting broke out on the evening of June 7, a Friday, as agitators burned cars, threw objects and fireworks at police, blocked traffic, vandalized public buildings with graffiti and smashed windows of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown. The rioting continued into the weekend and ensuing weeknights.

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