Journalists condemn slew of incidents and call on authorities to ensure ‘press freedom is respected’
Several journalists covering the protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have reported being attacked by law enforcement over the last several days, prompting condemnation and a call on authorities to do “more to ensure press freedom is respected”.
Some were struck by rubber bullets and fired at with pepper balls while one crew was briefly detained while broadcasting live.
CNN’s Jason Carroll and his crew were briefly detained by police on Monday while covering the LA protests live on air. A video of the encounter shows Los Angeles police officers telling Carroll and his colleagues that they have to leave the area, before asking them to put their hands behind their backs and escorting them away.
“I asked, ‘Am I being arrested?’” Carroll told CNN after the incident, to which he said the officer told him: “‘No … you’re being detained.”
