KTLA photographer Ken Koller was struck with a flash-bang grenade while covering an immigration enforcement protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2025.
It was the start of numerous protests 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.
In a Facebook post, Koller shared that he was in urgent care, watching footage on TV of the moment he was struck by a flash bang. In comments under the post, he wrote that following the federal raids, a convoy of officers was surrounded by protesters, prompting them to throw flash bangs into the crowd. He also posted a video showing officers tossing the devices out of a vehicle and into the street.
“No damage to my eardrum. Still hurts, basically the shockwave from the explosion basically hit me like a punch, so the area around my ear is inflamed,” he wrote. “Dr says a couple days and it should be OK.”
Neither Koller nor KTLA could immediately be reached for comment.
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.