Photographer shot in face with rubber bullet at LA protest
Sheriff deputies stand guard as demonstrators gather on the steps of City Hall as protests continue in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 13, 2025. Armed Marines arrived on the streets of Los Angeles on June 13, part of a large deployment of troops ordered by Donald Trump that has raised the stakes between the US president and opponents criticizing him of growing authoritarianism. Men in fatigues and carrying semiautomatic rifles were seen around a federal building, where passersby questioned why they were in an area 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the protests against immigration raids. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP)
LOS ANGELES, United States — An Agence France-Presse photographer was recovering Monday after he was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by law enforcement during their standoff with protesters in downtown Los Angeles.
The photographer was covering demonstrations on Saturday — part of the many rallies across the country against US President Donald Trump.
He was struck twice by rubber bullets fired by authorities when they abruptly moved in to disperse protesters, and had to be treated in hospital for his injuries.
“I was covering the protest … approximately 90 feet away from the police when I received the impact of a rubber bullet in my face and another one in my right arm,” he recalled.
The photographer, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was clearly identified as a journalist.
“I was working with two cameras, a helmet with AFP stickers on it and also, I had a big patch on my chest that said ‘Press,'” he added.
Los Angeles Police Department did not acknowledge firing at the photographer but said it had sought to clear protesters after declaring an unlawful assembly.
“Following the dispersal order, less-lethal munitions were used to clear the area of those who refused to comply and leave the area,” it told AFP in a statement.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which also policed the protest, said it was reviewing footage of the incident but added it was “not clear whether our personnel were involved.”
“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press,” it said.
Saturday’s rally was the largest of the protests that began in Los Angeles on June 6 and have continued daily ever since.
They first erupted in anger at raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been ordered by the Trump administration to target undocumented migrants across the sprawling, heavily Latino city.
READ: 575 arrested, 10 officers injured in anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles
The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful and confined to a small section of downtown Los Angeles.
But at times they have spiraled into violence that Trump has pounced on to send 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines into the city — a move loudly protested by local officials.
Other journalists have also been injured during the protests.
The Guardian newspaper reported that a British photographer had to undergo emergency surgery after he was shot in the leg by a non-lethal round on June 7.
Meanwhile, an Australian reporter was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet while she was reporting on live television on June 8, an incident slammed by the country’s prime minister as “horrific.”
And the New York Post said its photographer was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, also during the June 8 clashes.
