New York, November 11, 2016–Four masked men attacked freelance photojournalist Kyle Ludowitz yesterday as he photographed protesters looting and vandalizing businesses in the U.S. city of Oakland, California, the journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ludowitz was treated for a broken cheekbone following the incident, he said.
“The media should never be targeted for doing the important work of documenting events of significant public interest,” said Carlos Lauría, senior coordinator of the Americas program at CPJ. “Journalists have faced increasing threats and violence at political events throughout the U.S. presidential election campaign. The trend toward heightened violence targeting the press is alarming, and must be reversed.”
The attack came amid protests against the November 8 election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Ludowitz told CPJ that three protesters attempted to intervene to stop the assault. In the past weeks, journalists have faced threats and attacks both from professed supporters and opponents of Trump. Unknown individuals in Los Angeles also vandalized TV news vans and the Los Angeles Times’ building on November 9, the newspaper reported.