Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi hit by rubber bullet during Los Angeles protests
Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Nine News, was hit by a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) rubber bullet while covering the LA protests over the weekend.
In a video that has surfaced online, Tomasi can be seen reporting outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown Los Angeles when a rubber bullet struck her as officers began dispersing protesters. Watch the incident that was caught live on air.
'After hours of standing off, this situation has now rapidly deteriorated, the LAPD moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA,' she said on air just moments before being hit by the rubber bullet.
Just as she went on covering the protests, Tomasi suddenly cried. The video shows her grabbing her calf as a rubber bullet, used to disperse crowds, hit her.
'You just f****** shot the reporter!' a bystander can be heard shouting just after the hit.
When a bystander asked Lauren Tomasi if she was alright, she responded, 'I'm good.'
Channel Nine issued a statement informing that both Lauren Tomasi and her camera operator were safe.
"Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet. Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events,' the statement said.
The network called the incident 'a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests'.
US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to escalating protests triggered by a recent wave of immigration raids.
The White House announced late Saturday that the troops will remain for 60 days or until Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth decides otherwise.
The protests erupted after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out large-scale operations across Los Angeles, arresting dozens of undocumented immigrants. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, 44 people were reportedly arrested on Friday. Officials have not confirmed if more arrests occurred on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticised Trump's action as 'purposefully inflammatory.' On X, he wrote, 'Trump was deploying the National Guard not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle... Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.' LA mayor Karen Bass also condemned the immigration raids, calling them 'tactics that sow terror.'
Several footage from the protests showed federal agents in military-style gear using force to control the crowd. Witnesses saw protesters being detained, though authorities haven't released official arrest numbers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
29 minutes ago
- Mint
Donald Trump defends troop deployment to Los Angeles, slams ‘incompetent' Governor and Mayor for wildfire rebuild delays
US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to defend his decision to send federal troops to Los Angeles amid recent protests, claiming that without military intervention, the city "would be burning to the ground right now." The statement follows nights of unrest and controversy surrounding the deployment of National Guard and US Marines. Trump sharply criticised California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accusing them of incompetence in handling both the protests including the California fires and local permitting processes. "25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor," he wrote, suggesting that their mismanagement contributed to widespread devastation. In his post, Trump also highlighted issues with rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles, pointing to delays in city and state approvals. He argued that the federal permitting process is complete, but local authorities are "disastrously bungled up and WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE!" urging residents to pressure their leaders to act. Trump's deployment of military forces in Los Angels to quell protests against anti-ICE immigration raids has drawn sharp criticism. California officials have publicly opposed federal troop presence, calling it an overreach. Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Mass argued that his move escalates tensions rather than restores order. Meanwhile, supporters believe the intervention was necessary to prevent further destruction in the city.
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
L.A. protest today: Locations, map, and everything you need to know about the ongoing unrest
Live Events FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Protests erupted in LA over the weekend after Immigration and Customs Enforcements officials (ICE) raided multiple locations with Hispanic populations, detaining illegal immigrants . In response, POTUS Donald Trump sent 2000 National Guard troops into LA, promising to send 2000 more later in the week if protests don't are expected to continue on Tuesday, with the Arts District and Little Tokyo area of LA still seeing massive camping by people against the raids on 'illegal' immigrants and ICE intervention. Police have used flash bangs and rubber bullets to thwart any escalation in protests, reports L.A. protests Vehicles were set alight and 101 freeway was brought to a halt by what started off as peaceful demonstrations. Home Depot in the Paramount area of South LA and the Federal building in LA are still the. Major flashpoints of the protests. LAPD said that it arrested 29 protestors on Saturday and 27 on Sunday, with President Donald Trump saying that the protestors are a threat to national 1965, it's the first time that the National Guard has been activated by the Federal government without the permission of the state. Governor Gavin Newsom has criticised the move, saying that the move was Mayor Kavin Bass said that the government was using the deployments as an 'experiment' of federal authority in LA. The state of California has now used the Federal government in court, moving to declare the sending of the National Guard are protesting against ICE raids detaining undocumented federal government sent the National Guard without California's approval.
NDTV
31 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Deranged, Dangerous": California Governor Shreds Trump Over Military Move
On the fourth day of chaotic protests against immigration raids, US President Donald Trump has sent thousands of more troops to Los Angeles. The protests are now spreading to other US cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Austin and San Francisco. To put an end to the protests, about 700 Marines have been deployed in Los Angeles and 4,000 National Guard troops have been mobilised. Notably, the American military does not have any domestic law enforcement role. The US Marines had been deployed domestically in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina and for the 26/11 attacks. California Governor Gavin Newsom said that this move by the US president is fulfilling "the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president". The state is suing the president for sending in troops without the permission of the governor. In a war of words, he also responded to Trump saying, "this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism" and that the deployment was "about stroking a dangerous president's ego". The last time a president had sent National Guard troops to a US city without a governor's approval was in 1965. District Attorney Nathan Hochman told BBC that extra deployment was unnecessary because only a 'small fraction' of the area's population was protesting and an even smaller number had broken the law. However, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that if he had not deployed Marines and other soldiers in Los Angeles, the city 'would be burning to the ground right now'. 'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now,' Trump posted on Truth Social. On Monday, Trump said at the White House that he had no other choice, "You watch same clips I did: cars burning, people rioting, we stopped it," the president said. "I feel we had no choice." Trump's Border Czar, Tom Homan threatened that elected officials could get arrested if they interfered with agents on the ground. 'I'm telling you what, we're going to keep enforcing law every day in L.A.,' Homan said. 'Every day in L.A., we're going to enforce immigration law. I don't care if they like it or not.' 'I'll say it about anybody,' Homan added. 'You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.'
