Over the weekend, protesters took to the streets in Los Angeles to speak out against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have been taking place in the city. At least 56 people were arrested over the weekend as a result.
On Saturday evening, US President Donald Trump announced the deployment of 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to quell the protests — a decision that’s been denounced by California Governor Gavin Newsom as “[escalating] chaos and violence in LA.” The governor also says he’s filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
An example of said chaos is this video that 9News Australia shared on Twitter, in which the news organization’s US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was shot with a rubber bullet while covering the protests.
@9NewsAUS / Via x.com
As this Twitter user points out, a Los Angeles Police Department officer seemingly fired a shot directly at the reporter while she was on camera. You can watch the moment slowed-down below:
@fleshsimulator / @9NewsAus / Via x.com
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“I’m good,” Lauren said as she regained her footing after being hit by the rubber bullet.
People were generally — and understandably — horrified while reacting on social media:
Read more about the LA protests and the government’s response to them here.
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Australian reporter hit by nonlethal round while covering intensifying protests in Los Angeles
Australian television journalist Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet Sunday while reporting live from downtown Los Angeles on the large-scale protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and subsequent deployment of California National Guard troops to the city.
Australian reporter covering Los Angeles protests shot with rubber bullet by police officer
A correspondent for Australian news outlet 9News was shot with a rubber bullet fired by a police officer while she was covering the Los Angeles protests. The moment was captured on video moments after she finished a live report. The outlet confirmed the incident, saying the U.S. correspondent, Lauren Tomasi, was shot in the leg by the officer “who was standing guard in the city’s downtown district.” The publisher of the outlet said the correspondent and her camera operator “are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events.”
Watch: TV reporter shot in leg by LA police
Nine News
An Australian journalist was shot by Los Angeles police with a rubber bullet as she covered protests against immigration raids in the city.
In the middle of a live broadcast, a police officer appeared to aim and shoot at Lauren Tomasi, the US correspondent for Nine News, from close range with a non-lethal live round during the third day of unrest.
On Sunday, the demonstrations against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown intensified as the LAPD and National Guard clashed with large crowds.
Standing near a police barricade, Tomasi told the camera: “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.”
Seconds later, she was shot with a rubber bullet.
The footage, posted online by Nine, shows an officer lift a gun and fire in the direction of the journalist and her camera operator. Tomasi screams out in pain and grabs her calf as a man’s voice then yells: “You just f—ing shot the reporter!”
Asked if she was OK, the reporter replies: “I’m good, I’m good.”
In a statement on Monday, Nine said: “Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet. Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the front lines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information,” the network told The Guardian.
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Tomasi was reporting close to the centre of the protests, which started on Friday, in downtown LA. The LAPD had advised the press to “keep a safe distance from active operations”.
Sarah Hanson-Young, an Australian lawmaker, has urged Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, to raise the incident with the US president, describing it as “shocking” and “completely unacceptable”.
The incident came shortly after Nick Stern, a British news photographer, underwent emergency surgery after being hit by a rubber bullet while covering the protests in Paramount, a city in LA County.
“My initial concern was, were they firing live rounds?” he told the PA news agency, describing how protesters carried him to safety as blood poured down his leg. “I intend, as soon as I am well enough, to get back out there,” he added.
The large-scale protests, which were triggered by a wave of immigration raids in the city, escalated on Sunday after Mr Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops onto the streets.
The White House said the move was “essential”, but Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, condemned their deployment as “purposefully inflammatory”.
Tens of thousands joined the protests over the weekend, blocking off a major motorway and setting cars on fire as the authorities used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.
By Sunday evening, protesters had dispersed as police declared an unlawful assembly, a move that comes ahead of officers moving in to make arrests of those who do not leave.
Reporter hit by rubber bullet while covering ICE protests
A reporter for an Australian news channel was shot with a rubber bullet while covering the immigration protests Sunday in downtown Los Angeles.
California governor calls Trump National Guard deployment in LA unlawful
By Jorge Garcia and Arafat Barbakh
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump‘s immigration enforcement, a step the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called unlawful.
Police were making more arrests after at least 10 on Sunday and 29 the previous night, Los Angeles police officers told a news briefing.
National Guard troops guarded federal government buildings, as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be “unlawful assemblies”, accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police.
Video images showed several self-driving cars from Alphabet’s Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening.
Los Angeles police officers on horseback attempted to control the crowds.
Demonstrators shouted “Shame on you!” at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare.
Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing U.S. immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city.
The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized speakers outside City Hall for an afternoon rally.
More in U.S.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles county, calling it unlawful.
In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump “has created the conditions” around the protests.
Newsom accused Trump 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.
However, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday night that the protests were getting out of control.
Asked if the National Guard was needed, McDonnell said police would not “go to that right away,” but added, “Looking at the violence tonight, I think we’ve got to make a reassessment.”
In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so.
“He should, right now!!!” Trump added. “Don’t let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!”
The White House disputed Newsom’s characterization, saying in a statement, “Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness.”
Earlier, about a dozen National Guard, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed.
U.S. Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property.
In a social media post on Sunday, 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.”
He did not cite any specific incidents.
“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.
The FBI offered a $50,000-reward for information on a suspect accused of throwing rocks at police vehicles in Paramount, injuring a federal officer.
Despite Trump’s rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil disorder.
Asked on Sunday whether he was considering doing so, he said, “It depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection.”
‘HIGH ALERT’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on “high alert.”
U.S. Northern Command said about 500 Marines were prepared to deploy if ordered.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent.
“I don’t want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily,” Bass told a press conference.
Vanessa Cárdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, accused the Trump administration of “trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration.”
On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.
Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting ICE a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants a day.
Census data suggests a significant part of the population in Democratic-run Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born.
But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included legally residents, some with permanent residence, spurring legal challenges.
On Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the U.S. government over the immigration raids and National guard deployment.
“We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,” Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event.
“The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.”
TRUMP’S JUSTIFICATION
Trump’s justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the U.S. Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the “orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.”
It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the National Guard without Newsom’s order.
Title 10 allows for National Guard deployment by the federal government if there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.”
Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities.
Trump’s memo says the troops will “temporarily protect ICE and other United States government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring, or are likely to occur.”
