Journalist threatened with arrest at LA immigration protest

Independent journalist Dexter Thomas was detained and threatened with arrest while covering a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.

The demonstration was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued since June.

Thomas told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and another journalist, Lexis-Olivier Ray, were covering a protest near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held.

The LA Police Department started pushing demonstrators away from the federal building and formed a kettle, a tactic used to surround and control a crowd. Thomas said he and Ray, who were both wearing press badges and identifiers, were in the kettle when an officer announced everyone would be arrested for failure to disperse.

In a series of Instagram video posts from that day, the pair repeatedly told officers they were journalists and exempt from the dispersal orders. They remained detained for more than a half hour before they were released.

“Had we not repeatedly stated that Penal Code 409.7 requires that we be allowed to continue working, I’m not sure what would have happened,” Thomas said. “We were told we were being detained; we were told we were being arrested.”

Once outside the kettle, Thomas and Ray continued filming. A police spokeswoman approached them, blocked them from recording and told them they were interfering with police operations. Another officer came and also stood by them.

“We were being more or less guarded by two police,” Thomas said. “We were just documenting the arrests.”

The actions of LAPD officers appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from using such protest policing tactics with members of the press, which a federal court reinforced with a preliminary injunction last year.

The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment. In social media posts on X after the protest, it said it had declared an unlawful assembly and was making arrests of people who did not leave the area. It did not address the detainment of members of the press.