Independent journalist detained in police kettle amid LA protests

Reporter Cam Higby was detained in a kettle by police while covering an anti-deportation protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 9, 2025.

The protests began June 6 in response to federal raids in and around LA of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with local law enforcement officers and federal agents, President Donald Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass.

Higby told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the Los Angeles Police Department declared the protests an unlawful assembly. They then began herding the crowd, pushing demonstrators down Alameda Street, a major thoroughfare.

He said officers ultimately surrounded them using a technique called kettling. Higby, who is a journalist and personality for digital news media and commentary site Today Is America, reported live from the kettle on Fox News.

Officers gave them conflicting information, Higby said, adding that they said “somebody would be around to kind of collect media in a little while, but that person didn’t come.”

Higby and other journalists caught in the kettle told the Tracker that police were removing journalists and demonstrators one by one, and did not make it clear whether members of the press were under arrest.

When each of the journalists was removed from the kettle, officers directed them to place their hands behind their back and then held their arms in place while walking them out of the area. Once members of the press provided their names and basic information, officers allowed them to leave with a warning that, if they returned, they would be subject to arrest.

When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. But in a June 10 news release posted on social platform X about the previous evening’s arrests, the LAPD did not address the detainments and removal of journalists caught in the kettle.

Higby told the Tracker he was also caught in a kettle while documenting protests the following night, but that he and members of the press were quickly directed to an officer who verified their press credentials and allowed them to leave without further incident.