The Freedom of the Press Foundation reports a sharp increase in verified assaults on US journalists since President Trump returned to office, documenting 170 incidents before 16 December 2025—nearly matching the 175 attacks recorded from 2022–2024. Most incidents occurred at immigration-related protests, including 34 assaults during a six-week operation outside the Broadview detention facility. High-profile injuries, class-action suits against ICE and DHS, and a federal temporary restraining order have highlighted growing risks for reporters covering civil unrest.
Report: Sharp Surge in Attacks on Journalists in US Since Trump’s Return
Protesters help a photojournalist during a protest in Compton, California, on 7 June 2025.Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP
The United States has seen a pronounced rise in physical attacks on journalists since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, according to a new review by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The non-profit, which tracks verified incidents, says most reported assaults involved reporters and photographers covering immigration-related protests and enforcement operations.
Key Findings
The foundation recorded 170 verified assaults on journalists this year before 16 December 2025, a total nearly matching the 175 incidents it documented from 2022 through 2024 combined. Many incidents occurred at protests tied to the administration's immigration enforcement actions.
Context
Press freedom advocates and academic researchers say journalists are inherently at greater risk during civil unrest because they are present where confrontations occur. They also note that hostile political rhetoric toward the press can increase public hostility and make attacks more likely.
“When the president models ridicule and delegitimization, it signals to supporters that journalists are fair targets,” said Lars Willnat, a Syracuse University professor who has studied political polarization and perceptions of the media.
Incidents and Legal Responses
During "Operation Midway Blitz," a coordinated immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area, the foundation says journalists were assaulted 34 times over six weeks outside the Broadview, Illinois, detention facility. In total, the foundation only logs incidents that can be verified by first-person accounts or by multiple independent sources.
Notable individual cases include Los Angeles photographer Nick Stern, who alleges he was seriously injured twice while covering anti-ICE protests. In June, a lawsuit states that an explosive device struck near him in Compton, sending a casing into his thigh and requiring emergency surgery and a four-day hospital stay. Months later, he says an officer struck him in the face with a baton after he displayed a press ID. Stern has sued the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Chicago journalist Raven Geary reported being hit in the face by a pepper ball fired by an ICE officer during a September protest outside the Broadview facility. Geary and other journalists, advocacy groups and demonstrators filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, alleging violations of First Amendment rights to gather news and Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force.
In October, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring defendants from using physical force against anyone they reasonably should know is a journalist unless they have probable cause to believe that person committed a crime. The defendants have appealed, arguing that violence in the region justified their tactics; the judge rejected that characterization in a later opinion.
Voices From the Field
Stephanie Sugars, a senior reporter at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the foundation launched its incident tracker after the 2014 protests in Ferguson and has consistently found that protests are the most dangerous venues for journalists in the US. She added that while presidential rhetoric does not translate directly into control over local police departments, it can contribute to an environment that tolerates hostility toward the press.
Despite his injuries and at age 61 saying he is "too old for this," Stern continues to report from protests. "We’ll look back at this as a time when the US went through such turmoil," he said. "It needs to be documented."
