Reporters Without Borders Decries 'Wave Of Violence' Against Journalists At LA Protests

“These protests are a matter of huge public interest and the public has a right to know exactly what’s going on,” said the executive director of RSF USA.

By Eloise Goldsmith, Common Dreams

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, on Monday condemned recorded attacks carried out largely by law enforcement, but also by protestors, against journalists reporting on protests that took place in Los Angeles this past weekend.

Protests began on Friday to oppose federal immigration raids on workplaces.

In a statement, RSF said that it has verified at least 27 recorded incidents of violence against journalists since June 6 with the help of its local partner, the Los Angeles Press Club. Twenty four of those incidents were carried out by law enforcement, and three were carried out by individual protestors, according to the statement.

“The wave of violence against journalists on the streets of Los Angeles this weekend is unacceptable. These protests are a matter of huge public interest and the public has a right to know exactly what’s going on. The only way that can happen is if journalists are allowed to do their jobs freely,” said Clayton Weimers, the executive director of RSF USA.

“This is inherently dangerous work, but it’s made more dangerous by authorities who are unable or unwilling to distinguish press from protestors, and by private actors who attack members of the media,” Weimers continued. “Authorities in LA must do more to ensure press freedom is respected during these protests.”

In one incident caught on camera, police hit reporter Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. correspondent for CNN-affiliate Nine News in Australia, with a rubber bullet while she was reporting live on on air.

Several media workers reported being hit with “less-than-lethal munitions,” such as pepper balls, rubber bullets, and tear gas canisters, by police, according to RSF.

According to the group, U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to call in National Guard troops in response to protests “contributed to the violence against journalists already being perpetrated by law enforcement.” On Saturday, Trump ordered that 2,000 National Guard members be called up to help quell the anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, over the objections of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. As of Sunday, some 300 federal troops were on the ground in Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press.

Alleged incidents of violence carried out by protestors against media workers include an episode, caught on video, of a KTTV Fox 11 TV crew being heckled and forced to leave a protest.