CNN correspondent Jason Carroll was briefly detained by Los Angeles Police Department officers Monday night while covering the ongoing protests against Donald Trump’s immigration raids, prompting the network to respond that it was “pleased” the matter was resolved quickly.
With much of the national media’s attention centered squarely on Los Angeles now that the president has mobilized the National Guard and Marines to respond to the anti-ICE demonstrations, Carroll was reporting from one of the protests in the city.
Shortly after wrapping up a live dispatch during anchor Laura Coates’ broadcast, however, Carroll found himself with his hands behind his back as law enforcement officers began leading him away. Noticing the situation, Coates stopped her discussion with CNN analyst John Miller to ask Carroll what was happening.
“I am being detained,” the reporter exclaimed, his mic still live. “I’m being detained, Laura.”
After Carroll asked the officers if he was being arrested, one of the cops could be heard telling him that he was being led away from the protest scene and would not be allowed to return.
“We're letting you go. You can't come back. If you come back, you will be arrested,” the officer stated. “Because then if you come back in, then you go.”
At that point, a man identifying himself as working for The New York Times told Carroll that his crew had “video of you guys” and that if CNN needed it later, the network just needed to call the paper. “Thank you, I appreciate that,” Carroll responded.
The CNN correspondent would thank the officers after he was escorted behind the police perimeter before turning back to Coates to explain to viewers what happened.
“I was called over, and the officer told me to put my hands behind my back. I said, ‘Am I being arrested?’ And he said, ‘You are being detained,’” Carroll told viewers. “I was walked out of the area. They took down my information.”
According to Carroll, it didn’t matter to the officers that he had clarified that he was a reporter for CNN, as they were adamant that he needed to leave the scene.
“They did not put me in zip ties, but they did grab both my hands as I was escorted over to the side,” he continued. “They said you are being detained while we lead you out of this area. You are not allowed to be in this area.”
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A CNN spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that Carroll and his production team were briefly held by the LAPD, adding that they were thankful that the situation was defused in a swift manner.
“A CNN reporting team was briefly detained in Los Angeles while capturing the events that were unfolding as police attempted to clear an area during the ongoing protests and police and military response in the city,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are pleased the situation resolved quickly once the reporting team presented law enforcement with their CNN credentials. CNN will continue to report out the news unfolding in Los Angeles.”
Meanwhile, Caroll said Monday night that he wasn’t too bothered by the police detaining him while he was reporting from the demonstration, noting that it essentially comes with the job. Still, he did say this came as a bit of a surprise.
“You take a lot of risks as the press. This is low on that scale of risks, but it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day,” he concluded. “I’ve covered any number of protests, and normally the officers realize that the press is there doing a job.”
