Veronica Miracle was broadcasting live when protesters and police clashed, and tear gas and crowd-control rounds engulfed the scene — and she kept reporting through it all
CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle was hit with tear gas and possibly a non-lethal crowd-control round Friday while reporting live from an ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest in downtown Los Angeles, multiple outlets report.
Miracle was on camera outside a federal building when the demonstration escalated, with law enforcement officers firing chemical irritants and pepper-ball rounds to disperse the crowd. Witnesses at the scene described a haze of gas and confusion as protestors, journalists and police were all affected.
Despite being enveloped by tear gas — which can cause severe burning, coughing and impaired breathing — Miracle continued her live cross, speaking to the camera even as the irritants filled the air around her.
The downtown Los Angeles protest was one of several demonstrations happening nationwide under banners opposing federal immigration enforcement actions, with thousands of people taking to the streets this week. Police responded with chemical agents after crowds reportedly became confrontational, according to media accounts of the event.
The tense scene in L.A. comes just hours after former CNN host Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents — also in Los Angeles — in connection with his reporting at a protest earlier this month in Minnesota. Lemon has since been released but faces federal charges tied to the disruption of a church service during that anti-ICE demonstration.
The incident highlights the escalating tensions between law enforcement and journalists covering protests, particularly those focused on U.S. immigration policy and enforcement practices. Journalists have increasingly found themselves in the line of fire as demonstrations grow larger and more volatile, raising questions about press safety and freedom of the press during live coverage of civil unrest.
