Attacks on journalists in Minnesota cap Trump’s first year back in office

On January 17, freelance photographer John Abernathywas documenting a protest outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, a site of consistent protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federal agents began to push back protesters, and violently tackledand peppersprayed Abernathy before detaining him. One witness who wishes to remain anonymous told RSF that "they went straight for him" despite Abernathy being one of dozens of reporters present.

According to the witness interviewed by RSF, agents reportedly told Abernathy, who has worked with Getty Images, that he was targeted because they had video evidence of him dispersing bear spray at the protest, which the photographer flatly denied. When asked to produce the video, the agents demurred and released him. The witness told RSF that some time prior to his arrest, Abernathy had taken a can of bear spray away from a known agitator who was threatening protestors and disposed of it. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not responded to RSF's request for comment.

Abernathy is the sixth confirmed journalist to be violently attacked by law enforcement while covering protests in Minnesota since January 9, 2026. The others, recorded by the US Press Freedom Tracker, a partner of RSF, are Whitney Wild (CNN), Jalyssa Dugrot (Mintpress News), JT Cestkowski (Status Coup), Jon Farina (Status Coup), and KingDemetrius Pendleton (Listen Media).

During the same weekend Abernathy was assaulted, independent journalist Don Lemon learned of a planned protest and followed the group to a church, where he livestreamed and interviewedboth protestors and worshippers. The church's pastor is reportedly a senior ICE official. Lemon's videos caught the attention of far-right influencers, leading Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, to threatenthe journalist, saying, "He went into the facility, and then he began - quote, unquote - 'committing journalism,' as if that's sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part, of a criminal conspiracy. It isn't." As of publication, no charges have been filed against Lemon.

In the past year, RSF has documented waves of violence against journalists during previous rounds of intense protests against the Trump Administration in Los Angelesand Chicago. These incidents fit a broader war on press freedom being waged by the White House, which has President Trump on track to join the ranks of the world's worst press freedom predators.