The moment police sh0t an Australian news reporter during the riots in Los Angeles is captured in a terr!fy!ng video that was posted online.
This weekend, Los Angeles went into chaos as protests broke out in response to aggressive immigration raids and ICE’s incarceration of hundreds of people.
Demonstrators blocked roads, set cars on fire, and released poisonous fumes all over Downtown, which stopped traffic on the 101 Freeway.
Credit: Nine News
ABC News said that at one point, protesters marched with flags and signs and took over both the northbound and southbound lanes.
The National Guard deployed in 2,000 troops, with an additional 500 Marines prepared to deploy, while the LAPD sent in “less lethal munitions,” according to the Daily Mail.
As emotions rose around the Civic Center and LA City Hall, where horseback cops were in tense standoffs with protest groups, officers ordered media partners to stay away from active operations.
Credit: Nine News
Lauren Tomasi, a Nine News US correspondent, and her camera operator were reporting directly outside the Metropolitan Detention Center when things got ugly.
After hours of stalemate, the situation has quickly gotten worse, according to Tomasi. The LAPD is riding in on horseback and sh00ting rubber bullets at the demonstrators as they proceed through the center of Los Angeles. Fearful people watched. A few seconds later, Tomasi was struck hard in the calf by a rubber bullet.
Viewers heard her scream and watched her hold her leg as someone exclaimed, “You just f****** sh0t the reporter!” Tomasi said “I’m fine, I’m fine” right after he fell, even though it was a hard time for him.
Nine later said, “Lauren Tomasi was hit by a rubber bullet.” Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will keep doing their important work of covering these events.
According to the network, this event served as a harsh reminder of the inherent dangers that journalists can face when reporting from the frontlines of protests while they are doing their jobs.
A senator from Australia who is a member of the Green Party named Sarah Hanson-Young described the behavior as “completely unacceptable” and “simply shocking.”
She told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to put pressure on the US government. She told The Independent, “The first thing he has to tell the president is to stop sh00ting at our journalists.” “Freedom of the press is an important part of a strong, working democracy.”
On the other hand, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated that the Australian Consulate-General in Los Angeles was in communication with Tomasi. The freedom of the press and the protection of journalists are both very important to Australia. “Every journalist ought to be able to perform their duties in a secure environment,” stated a spokesman.
Credit: Nine News
The White House called the sending of police and National Guard troops “necessary to stop and reverse the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States,” but California Governor Gavin Newsom called it “purposefully inflammatory.”
President Trump would not back down. He told Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass to “apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots.”
“These people are not protesting; they are causing disturbance and trying to overthrow the government. He also wrote on Truth Social, “Remember, NO MASKS!”