13 hours ago
Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi shot by rubber bullet during LA immigration protest
An Australian reporter has been shot with a rubber bullet while covering the immigration riots and protests in Los Angeles.
9News US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was reporting live on Sunday local time (Monday AEST) when she was struck, moments after describing how officers were firing rubber bullets at the crowd.
'I can see police here are firing rubber bullets at these protesters,' she said.
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Just after that, an officer appears to aim directly at Tomasi before she winces and clutches her leg in pain.
A voice outside the camera can then be heard shouting, 'You just f***in' shot the reporter!'
Tomasi and her cameraman ran for cover, with the reporter heard saying she was 'good'.
The protests, which erupted over Donald Trump's immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles, entered their third day on Sunday.
The US president deployed California National Guard troops in an effort to quell the unrest, which has led to clashes between demonstrators and police.
7NEWS US correspondent Rob Scott was also caught up in the chaos.
300 on the streets of Los Angeles under orders from Donald Trump.
He was forced to don a gas mask after being pepper sprayed and struggling to breathe.
'This is getting dangerous, guys,' Scott said, as he described the confrontation outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre.
Los Angeles police declared one rally near City Hall to be an 'unlawful assembly', alleging that some protesters threw concrete, bottles and other objects at police.
'Arrests are being initiated,' the department wrote in a post on social media.
Demonstrators shouted 'shame on you' at police and some appeared to throw objects, according to a video.
A group of protesters blocked the 101 Freeway, a major thoroughfare in downtown Los Angeles.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he requested the Trump administration withdraw its order to deploy 2000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles County, calling it unlawful.
Newsom accused Trump, a Republican, of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty.
'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,' he wrote in a post on X.
The White House disputed Newsom's characterisation, saying in a statement that 'everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness'.
Trump called the demonstrators 'violent, insurrectionist mobs' and said he was directing his cabinet officers 'to take all such action necessary' to stop what he called 'riots'.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or National Guard troops, saying 'they spit, we hit'.
'If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order,' Trump said.
