Attacks against journalists have become more frequent since the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, with journalists — especially those reporting on political news — being victims of assault, equipment theft and damage, detainment, arrest, cyberattacks, and doxxing at increasing rates by police, civilians, and immigration enforcement agents. Trump's actions have contributed to a significant decline in the freedom of the press.
These are widely considered the result of a combination of factors. Recent police attacks against journalists have been widely attributed to militarization of police in the U.S., the degree of influence of pro-Israel lobbies and lobbyists on crackdowns on the Gaza war protests by government and university officials, and Trump's militarization and deployment of law enforcement. Civilian attacks against journalists have increased largely as a result of Trump's legal and rhetorical attacks against journalists who are critical of his platform and due to his role propagating election denial conspiracy theories, often resulting in his supporters taking violent action.
In a Pew Research survey of 11,889 U.S. journalists conducted from February 16 to March 17, 2022, 57% stated that they were "extremely" or "very" concerned about the prospect of press restrictions being imposed in the United States. The U.S.'s Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index ranking fell from 20th in 2010 to 57th in 2025. According to RSF, "after a century of gradual expansion of press rights in the United States, the country is experiencing its first significant and prolonged decline in press freedom in modern history, and Donald Trump's return to the presidency is greatly exacerbating the situation." During Trump's second presidency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have repeatedly assaulted and arrested journalists.
2016–2017: Transition between Barack Obama and Donald Trump's presidencies
2016–2017: Dakota Access Pipeline attacks on journalists
During Obama's presidency, as protests swelled in fall 2016, authorities brought criminal cases against working journalists. On September 12, 2016, a North Dakota state's attorney sought a warrant for Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! after she filmed private security guards using dogs on demonstrators; prosecutors later amended the allegation to "riot," and a judge dismissed the case on October 17 for lack of probable cause. On October 11-12, 2016, documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg was arrested while covering coordinated pipeline actions and charged with multiple conspiracy counts; the charges, criticized by press-freedom groups, were dropped several weeks later.
Border officials also impeded coverage. On October 1, 2016, Canadian photojournalist Ed Ou was detained for six hours at the Canada–United States border, had his phones and storage media seized, and was denied entry en route to Standing Rock — an incident the ACLU said chilled newsgathering. By late 2016 and into early 2017, CPJ documented a pattern of freelancers and small-outlet reporters charged with trespass or riot while covering the protests, warning that arrests deterred coverage even when journalists said they were following police instructions.
After the change in administrations, arrests and prosecutions continued as authorities moved to clear the camps. On February 1, 2017, freelance reporter Jenni Monet (Laguna Pueblo) was arrested while covering a camp clearance and charged with criminal trespass and engaging in a riot; press-freedom groups highlighted her case as emblematic of risks facing independent reporters covering the protests. During the February 23, 2017, eviction of the main camp, independent photojournalist Tracie Williams was arrested while documenting the operation and had her phone, camera bodies, lenses, batteries, and storage media seized as evidence; outlets simultaneously described a heavily armed, militarized law-enforcement posture during the clearance.
2017: Inauguration Day violence and prosecution against journalists
During the end of Obama's term on January 20, 2017, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers conducted a large kettle near 12th and L Streets NW during protest dispersals, encircling and arresting more than 200 people, among them working reporters and photojournalists. Journalists on assignment described being shoved or struck during line pushes, subjected to close-range pepper spray and blast devices, and having cameras or protective gear seized or damaged — even while clearly identifying as press. Litigators alleged mass arrest tactics were used and that limited dispersal opportunities were provided prior to the kettle.
After Trump's term began, prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. brought felony "rioting" and related charges against dozens of arrestees, including several journalists. Early charging decisions swept up reporters such as Evan Engel of Vocativ and Alexei Wood, even as other journalists saw charges quickly dropped; within days, prosecutors also dismissed cases against Alexander Rubinstein (RT America) and documentary producer Jack Keller. The first protest trial ended with acquittals — including for photojournalist Alexei Wood — and, by mid-2018, the government dismissed the remaining cases against the last defendants, among them Rubinstein and Keller.
Oversight and civil suits culminated in policy changes and monetary relief. In 2021, the District of Columbia agreed to pay $1.6 million and adopt reforms — including training, limits on the use of pepper spray, and clearer dispersal-order practices — resolving claims stemming from the mass arrest and related use-of-force incidents against demonstrators and members of the press.
2017–2021: Donald Trump's first presidency
2019: Puerto Rico summer protests violence against journalists
As nightly crowds converged on Old San Juan during the July 2019 protests calling for Governor Ricardo Rosselló's resignation, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau used tear gas, pepper spray, and "less-lethal" impact munitions to clear the narrow streets around La Fortaleza. International and local outlets on scene documented baton charges and chemical agents deployed in tight corridors; reporters and camera crews working amid the crowd described being swept up in dispersals, forced back by lines of officers, and struggling to protect equipment as gas and projectiles filled the area.
Newsrooms and press-freedom advocates criticized the lack of media accommodation as officers repeatedly pushed protest lines back from the Fortaleza perimeter; coverage noted journalists' exposure to tear gas and close-quarters shoves during arrests and street clearances, and damage to cameras and protective gear consistent with the force used to disperse crowds.
2020: George Floyd protests police violence against journalists
During the 2020 demonstrations, press-freedom monitors documented widespread interference with newsgathering, including assaults, custodial arrests, equipment seizures, and access denials affecting local, national, and foreign media — even when reporters displayed visible credentials. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker recorded hundreds of incidents nationwide in its special dataset on protest coverage, a trend also analyzed by Columbia Journalism Review.
Several incidents drew international attention. In Minneapolis, freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado suffered permanent injury to her eye after being struck by a projectile while photographing confrontations, and a Reuters TV crew reported being hit by rubber bullets, injuring a cameraman and damaging equipment. A CNN crew led by correspondent Omar Jimenez was arrested live on air by the Minnesota State Patrol and released shortly afterward; the governor later apologized. In Lafayette Square, an Australian 7NEWS reporter and cameraman were shoved and struck by police with shields and batons while broadcasting, prompting a diplomatic complaint by Australia.
Litigation arising from protest coverage led courts to restrict police tactics against clearly identified journalists. In Portland, Oregon, a federal court barred city police — and later federal agents — from arresting, dispersing, or using force against journalists and legal observers absent probable cause of a crime. Elsewhere, newsrooms and press advocates reported baton strikes, close-range pepper spray, zip-tie detentions, and seizures or destruction of cameras and protective gear; subsequent rulings and settlements in several jurisdictions curtailed force against the news media and mandated training. In Minneapolis, officers from the Minnesota State Patrol and Anoka County Sheriff's Office acknowledged slashing tires on parked vehicles, including those used by media.
Press-freedom organizations characterized 2020 as a stress test for protest newsgathering. Reporting estimated hundreds of arrests and more than one hundred injuries attributable to police actions against the media, while the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that militarized protest policing created a hostile environment that risked chilling coverage. Between May 28 and June 1, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reported a variety of attacks on press, including 49 arrests, 42 instances of destruction of equipment, 69 physical attacks (43 by officers), 43 tear gassings, 24 pepper sprayings, and 77 rubber bullet incidents. Reporters Without Borders characterized this as an "unprecedented outbreak of violence."
2025–present: Donald Trump's second presidency
April–May 2025: Columbia University Gaza war protest journalist arrests
On May 7, 2025, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied Room 301 of Butler Library at Columbia University, renaming it the "Basel Al-Araj Popular University" for Palestinian activist Bassel al-Araj.Pillai, Daksha. Pro-Palestinian protesters and Public Safety officers clash at "Emergency Rally" in Butler Library . Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved May 8, 2025.Otterman, Sharon (May 7, 2025). Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators Occupy Columbia University's Main Library . The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025. Columbia Public Safety blocked exits, demanding university identification under threat of trespassing arrests, creating a standoff.Sukkar, Luisa. Protesters attempt to leave reading room protest as Public Safety demands identification . Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved May 8, 2025. Acting president Claire Shipman summoned the NYPD, whose officers in riot gear arrested 78 people — the university's largest mass arrest since April 2024.Alfred, Tsehai. NYPD confirms 78 arrests at Butler Library protest, all released from custody . Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved May 8, 2025. Witnesses described the police response as forceful and violent, with two people removed on stretchers, one wearing a kuffiyeh.Davis, Spencer. NYPD officers respond with force to protesters picketing around Columbia after arrests at Butler Library . Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Following the sweep, Columbia suspended over 65 students and barred 33 more, including journalists from student outlets Columbia Daily Spectator and WKCR, under interim suspension orders.Banerjee, Isha. Barnard suspends WKCR and Spectator reporters who covered Butler Library protest . Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved May 13, 2025. These student reporters had been present to cover the protest and were arrested under the same disciplinary action as participants.
June 2025: Los Angeles protests police attacks against journalists
September 2025: ICE agents assault journalists outside immigration court
September 2025–present: Operation Midway Blitz attacks on journalists