Moment reporter shot with rubber bullet during LA protest coverage
An Australian TV reporter, Lauren Tomasi of 9News, was struck in the leg by a rubber bullet fired by the LAPD while reporting live near protests in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
The incident occurred in downtown Los Angeles during the third day of unrest.
Tomasi was shot moments after finishing a live cross to Australia.
The camera captured an officer turning his weapon and firing at Tomasi as officers began firing rubber bullets at protesters.
An onlooker exclaimed, "F***, you shot the reporter!" after the incident.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Karoline Leavitt gets fiery as she's pressed on Trump's military response to Los Angeles protests
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got into a heated back and forth with reporters on Wednesday as she held her first briefing since President Donald Trump' federalized the National Guard in California and sent active-duty Marines to join them in cracking down on protests and unrest over immigration roundups in Los Angeles. Leavitt condemned the protests as 'shameful,' citing what she described as 'left-wing radicals waving foreign flags' who she accused of 'viciously attacking' Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents as well as Los Angeles Police Department officers as part of an assault on 'American culture and society itself.' Leavitt also condemned Democratic elected officials in the Golden State, specifically Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accusing them of having 'shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens' by not ordering a forceful military response to protesters. She also lauded Trump for ordering the 'mob' of protesters to be 'stamped out.' 'The criminals responsible will be swiftly brought to justice, and the Trump administration's operations to arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated,' Leavitt said. She added that Newsom and Bass had sided 'with illegal alien criminals in their communities and violent rioters and looters over law enforcement officers who are just doing their jobs.' But Leavitt's pugnacious attacks on California leaders did not satisfy reporters, who repeatedly asked her about the extent to which the military service members who've been deployed in Los Angeles are authorized to aid in immigration law enforcement, nor did she fully explain how Trump's threats to use 'very big force' against protesters at his planned military parade in D.C. this weekend comport with America's constitutional guarantees of free speech. She also aggressively denied that the immigration crackdown that precipitated the protests and violence over the weekend had been ordered up in an effort to change the national conversation from Trump's messy split with billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX boss who wrapped up a stint as an unpaid adviser to the administration late last month. Asked about the possibility that Trump's crackdown was meant as a distraction to their social media war, Leavitt replied: 'That's an incredibly disingenuous attack.' She said Trump had been moved by 'images of border patrol and ICE agents being hailed with rocks and Molotov cocktails' and 'vehicles being burned to the ground with illegal aliens flying foreign flags.' Leavitt's press briefing came less than a day after Trump threatened to forcibly put down any protests that spoil the military parade he has ordered up for his birthday on Saturday to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army's founding during the American Revolutionary War. During a media availability in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the president warned that any protests of the parade would be 'met with very big force' on Saturday. He reiterated the explicit threat a moment later, telling 'those people who want to protest' that they would be 'met with very big force' once more. He also opined further that any protest against the parade on Saturday would consist only of 'people who hate our country.' The president has a long history of pushing for the use of state violence against protests, which he considers to be a personal affront and a reflection of weakness on his part. During protests for racial justice in Washington following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer, he reportedly pushed to have military and law enforcement open fire on other protesters, asking then his then-Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Mark Milley, why National Guard troops deployed as a result of the demonstrations could not shoot protesters in the legs. But Leavitt denied that Trump has any intention of attacking protests against his parade or his policies this weekend. Seemingly ignorant of the president's history of urging violence against demonstrations, Leavitt claimed the president 'supports the right of Americans to peacefully protest' and 'supports the First Amendment' while suggesting that the protests in Los Angeles have consisted entirely of 'mobs of violent rioters and agitators assaulting law enforcement officers, assaulting our federal immigration authorities.' 'Thankfully, the President took action and stepped in to protect our federal law enforcement agents, to perfect protect federal buildings, to protect the federal mission of deporting illegal criminals off of our streets, and that mission will continue every day, as far as we're concerned,' she said.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Journalists among the injured in LA as ICE protests grow violent
June 11 (Reuters) - Journalists have been among those injured during protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles in recent days, as police clashed with crowds of protesters and fired less-lethal munitions to disperse them. Since confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement first flared over the weekend, more than 30 cases of "police violence" against journalists while covering the protests have been reported, according to a database maintained by the Los Angeles Press Club. The press club includes physical violence as well as efforts to impair journalists' coverage, such as nonconsensual bag searches, in the category. It updates its database with reports from journalists and incidents reported on social media. Some of the incidents have resulted in injuries. Lauren Tomasi, U.S. correspondent for 9News Australia, was hit by a projectile while reporting live in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Tomasi had her back to police and was speaking into the camera when an officer pointed a weapon toward her and fired it, according to a video of the incident. Toby Canham, a freelance photographer working for the New York Post, said he was struck by a projectile on Sunday, resulting in a bruised forehead. In an interview he said the projectile, which was "hard and rubbery," knocked him to the ground. The Post published an image shot by Canham showing a law enforcement official that he said had fired at him from about 100 yards (91 meters) away. Tomasi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Matt Stanton, CEO of 9News parent company Nine, in a statement called the incident 'shocking' and emphasized the need for a formal investigation. A photo editor at the New York Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The press club said it was aware of 20 injuries to journalists during the LA protests, including at least five that required medical attention. While Reuters established that at least two journalists were injured, the news agency could not independently confirm whether Tomasi or Canham were targeted because they are journalists. Reuters also could not confirm the press club's figures. In remarks to Australia's National Press Club on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tomasi was targeted as a journalist and that Australia has raised the issue with the Trump administration. An LAPD spokesperson did not confirm it had launched an investigation into the Tomasi incident, but highlighted a press release stating that its professional standards bureau 'will be investigating allegations of excessive force and other issues related to LAPD actions during the protests.' It is unclear whether those allegations relate to Tomasi. Other journalists included in the database said they were tear-gassed alongside protesters, kept in a small area, or had their bags searched by law enforcement without their consent. 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Commentators on the right have taken to social media attacking coverage by some outlets, saying they were at times intentionally downplaying the protests. It was unclear if that criticism had any impact on the number of incidents involving journalists. Trump has said protesters have spit on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday that ICE officers had been targeted in recent days and doxxed, the practice of publicizing private information for malicious reasons. Reuters could not confirm these incidents. The LA protests are not the first time journalists including some from Reuters covering U.S. civil unrest have suffered injuries, whether by accident or through deliberate attacks. The number of physical assaults on members of the media spiked in 2020, the year nationwide Black Lives Matter protests erupted after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to Press Freedom Tracker, which describes itself as a nonpartisan news website and database. In subsequent years, assaults on journalists have moderated, the Press Freedom Tracker shows. Before the recent unrest in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, only a handful of such cases have been logged by the database this year.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
CNN reporter exposes the truth about ICE 'protesters' descending on LA's streets
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