Tensions are high on the streets of Los Angeles. Over the weekend, ICE conducted a series of brutal raids against the city’s Latino residents. Masked men in full tactical gear burst into homes, workplaces, and churches, apparently targeting anyone with brown skin who speaks Spanish. Those arrested were separated from their children (who were placed in “baby jail”) and denied due process.
The response from ordinary Los Angeles residents was swift and decisive, taking to the streets to let the Trump administration know they won’t just roll over as their loved ones are funneled into some nightmare foreign forever-prison. Things escalated rapidly: the LAPD was rapidly overwhelmed, Trump sent in the National Guard, and is now threatening to deploy the Marines against Los Angeles.
The world is watching Los Angeles, with international media seeing this as a litmus test for how the Trump regime will deal with citizens standing up to them. But, in something you’d usually only expect to see in tinpot dictatorships, the cops are actively targeting journalists.
WATCH: “You just f*cking shot the press!”
Australian Journalist @LaurenTomasi shot by LAPD with rubber bullets live on air.
You can see him take aim directly at her. Insane. pic.twitter.com/r22X7m1rBo
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) June 9, 2025
In a disturbing video widely shared across social media, Australian news reporter Lauren Tomasi can be seen covering the protests. As she explains that the situation is “rapidly deteriorating”, an LAPD officer spotted her, brought up his gun, aimed at her back, and fired. The rubber bullet struck Tomasi in the leg, causing her to jump in fright and react with pain.
Tomasi has since confirmed she’s “okay” and said “this is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents“. The attack also followed another international journalist being shot, with British photographer Nick Stern requiring emergency surgery after also being shot with a rubber bullet.
Is this official policy?
Serious questions remain over what the LAPD is doing here. The officer in the video would have known Tomasi was a journalist, as she was delivering a piece to camera as he aimed his gun at her. She’s clearly not presenting even a vague threat to him and is obviously not engaged in any violent activity whatsoever. In fact, as a journalist, she’s not even involved in the protest at all.
So, we have two options. One is that LAPD officers are so wildly undisciplined that they’re allowed to fire upon anybody they choose for no reason. The other is that there’s an explicit order to discourage reporting on their actions during these protests. It may well be a coincidence that both Tomasi and Stern were both shot in the leg by rubber bullets, or it may be an indication that officers have been told to aim low when they see journalists.
Whatever the case, throw it on the teetering pile of evidence that United States law enforcement is out of control, ludicrously trigger-happy, and does not care if their criminal actions are caught on film.
