Detention and Violence

CBP officers detain journalist at border and seize his devices

Customs and Border Protection officers detained and questioned The Grayzone editor-in-chief and founder Max Blumenthal for two hours at Washington Dulles National Airport before seizing two cellphones he was carrying at the time. Blumenthal had just returned from a reporting trip to Iran to cover the Ayatollah’s funeral. Other American reporters who were also in Iran to cover the funeral — and who had participated in the same official press events as Blumenthal — were not questioned upon return to the U.S. Blumenthal has said he believes he was targeted for his journalism and because far-right influencer Laura Loomer had drawn attention to his Iran reporting trip. On July 5, Loomer wrote on X that she hoped he would be detained upon arrival in the U.S. and stripped of his passport. 

ICE detains journalist in company-marked car

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Nashville Noticias journalist Estefany Rodríguez while she was sitting in a car marked with the outlet’s logo. The arrest came one day after Rodríguez covered an ICE raid at a residential complex. The Department of Homeland Security has accused Rodríguez, a Colombian national, of overstaying her visa. Rodríguez and her lawyers, however, state that she applied for asylum in 2021 while her visa was still active and that she has since obtained a valid work permit and applied for permanent residency. They also allege that the DHS targeted Rodríguez for her previous reporting on immigration. 

Two journalists arrested for allegedly violating law while covering anti-ICE protest

Federal agents arrested independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort two weeks after they covered a protest in a Minneapolis church. On Jan. 18, the two had livestreamed from the church, where activists interrupted a service in protest of a pastor there who worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Afterwards, the Department of Justice tried to bring charges against Fort, Lemon and one of Lemon’s producers for violating a law prohibiting people from interfering with places of religious worship, but a magistrate judge rejected the charges. A federal appeals court later affirmed the judge’s decision. However, agents took Lemon into custody Jan. 29 and Fort the day after. In a livestream, Fort said agents informed her they were detaining her after obtaining a grand jury indictment. Both Lemon and Fort have said they were at the protest as journalists, not activists.

More from Poynter:

• Federal agents arrest journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in what press freedom groups say is an escalation
• This is what it looks like when a government tries to intimidate reporters

Multiple journalists injured by federal agents while covering Minnesota ICE operations

At least six journalists reported being teargassed, shot at with pepper balls and stun grenades and otherwise physically assaulted by federal agents while covering immigration operations in Minnesota. Starting in early January, at least 3,000 officers from multiple federal agencies have been sent to Minneapolis and the surrounding area as part of what the Trump administration has called the “largest immigration operation ever.” Since then, several journalists have been hit with crowd control munitions while covering immigration protests. In one case, a reporter suffered a concussion and had to be hospitalized. In another, a photojournalist was tackled by federal agents, handcuffed and detained. Multiple journalists also reported having their reporting equipment damaged by federal agents.

More from Poynter:

• How bystander video and newsroom analysis undercut the White House narrative on Alex Pretti
• How exhausted Minneapolis journalists are covering a prolonged federal crackdown
• What’s happening in Minneapolis? Hear it from the journalists who live there.
• Abandoned cars, long days and no clear end for Minneapolis reporters
• How the Minnesota Star Tribune prepared its newsroom to cover Operation Metro Surge

ICE detains British journalist and political commentator on speaking tour

Federal immigration officers detained British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco International Airport. Hamdi, who often comments on Middle East current events, has previously spoken in support of Palestine and consequently become a target of right-wing activists. He was on a speaking tour in the U.S. when he was detained. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on X that Hamdi’s visa had been revoked and that people who “support terrorism and undermine American national security” will not be allowed in the country. Hamdi’s wife, Soumaya Hamdi, has said that neither she nor the British government have seen any evidence explaining his detention. The State Department has previously revoked visas belonging to activists supporting Palestine, some of whom have also been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Journalist who was detained while covering protests is deported to El Salvador

Independent journalist Mario Guevara was deported to his home country of El Salvador after spending 110 days in detention. Guevara was arrested in June while covering protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and charged with the misdemeanors of unlawful assembly, obstruction and walking on or along a roadway as a pedestrian. Though Guevara was granted bond and later had all criminal charges dropped, he was kept in detention, where he said he was kept in solitary confinement 22 hours a day. Guevara also said he lost more than 25 pounds, suffered depression and was held in a cell that was kept lit around the clock. Guevara, who fled El Salvador in 2004 after facing death threats for his journalism, had a work permit for the U.S. The White House said Guevara was deported for not complying with a 2012 court order to leave the country. But Guevara had appealed that order, and prosecutors closed the case before his appeal could be decided. 

Three journalists injured by ICE agents outside New York City courtroom

Masked Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents injured three journalists who were covering arrests at an immigration court in New York City. The agents shouted profanities at amNewYork police bureau chief Dean Moses when he attempted to follow them into a public elevator, where they were arresting an immigrant. They then grabbed him and shoved him out of the elevator. Outside the elevator, agents shoved freelancer Olga Fedorova, who was working for The Associated Press, to the floor. Another journalist, Anadolu Agency chief cameraman L. Vural Elibol, also fell during the altercation and hit his head. Elibol was taken to the hospital to treat his injuries. Journalists covering immigration in Chicago and Los Angeles have previously reported being assaulted by federal agents, including ICE officers.

Multiple journalists injured by federal officers while covering Chicago protests

Multiple journalists say they were struck by pepper balls, tear-gassed and otherwise harassed by federal agents while reporting on protests and Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Chicago. ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers arrived in the city in early September to detain people living in the country illegally. Since then, journalists covering the operation have reported being assaulted, unprovoked, by agents despite wearing visible press credentials. In addition to ICE and CBP, the Bureau of Prisons; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have officers participating in the operation. The assaults come after federal agents injured dozens of journalists covering immigration protests in Los Angeles over the summer. 

More from Poynter:

• Tear gas, fear and federal secrecy: How Chicago journalists are covering Trump’s immigration policies while living through them
• The leader of a major press association resigned after his board opposed a lawsuit defending journalists’ rights

ICE asks local officials to detain journalist arrested while covering Atlanta protests

Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested that local authorities detain independent journalist Mario Guevara, who was arrested while covering a “No Kings” protest in Atlanta. Guevara, who fled El Salvador in 2004 after receiving death threats for his reporting, has built a large following for his live coverage of immigration raids. As he was arrested, Guevara told police officers that he was there reporting as a member of the media — an interaction captured on his livestream of the protest. He was charged with unlawful assembly, obstruction of law enforcement and walking on or along a roadway as a pedestrian. 

Former Columbia student denied entry to US for writings about campus protests

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detained Australian national Alistair Kitchen at the border for 12 hours before denying him entry due to his writings about pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University. Kitchen, a former Columbia master’s student, had blogged about the protests in spring 2024 when he was a student at the university. CBP officials cited those writings when they informed Kitchen he would not be allowed into the country. Kitchen, who was trying to visit friends in New York, said CBP officials searched his phone and questioned him on his views about the Israel-Hamas war, Hamas and student protesters. After being refused entry, he was sent back to Australia.     

Dozens of journalists injured by law enforcement while covering Los Angeles protests

Dozens of journalists covering protests in Los Angeles against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s raids were injured by law enforcement officers. The Los Angeles Press Club documented more than 60 instances of journalists being kettled, detained, shoved, tear gassed, shot at and otherwise assaulted by officers over the course of several days. Law enforcement agencies present at the protests included local police departments like the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as state and federal officials, including the Department of Homeland Security and the National Guard. 

More from Poynter:

• When your local reporter needs the same protection as a war correspondent

Trump administration detains PhD student for pro-Palestine op-ed

Plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Turkish national Rümeysa Öztürk for an op-ed she had co-authored for Tufts University’s student newspaper. In the op-ed, which was published on March 26, 2024, Öztürk and three other Ph.D. students called on Tufts to align itself with the student government’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war. The government has accused Öztürk of antisemitic activity and supporting a terrorist group without evidence.

More from Poynter:

• The Trump administration’s crackdowns on the press and universities fuel fear among international student journalists
• Under Trump, student journalism is ‘trial by fire,’ reporters say