CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle was shot in the leg with a pepper ball by a federal agent while reporting live on anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026.
The demonstration was part of nationwide protests that began that day and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued since June.
Protests that day started at around 1 p.m. near City Hall in downtown LA, before demonstrators made their way to the nearby Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants have been held.
In a segment for CNN’s “OutFront” at 4:45 p.m., Miracle starts by telling anchor Erin Burnett that she was still recovering from being pepper-sprayed.
“There’s so much of the pepper spray still in the air and so, so many people around us coughing and gagging, including us,” she continues.
Miracle reports that protesters overtook a skirmish line of Department of Homeland Security officers, ultimately pushing them back to the loading dock of the detention facility until they retreated inside.
“There was, you know, a bit of a skirmish. There were some pepper spray, people were throwing bottles, but ultimately these protesters have overtaken this property, which I have never seen before,” she says. “Usually police are here, and they’re able to keep protesters off of the property.”
Miracle suddenly moves toward the camera and looks down and away, saying, “OK, I just got hit. Hold on, hold on.
“I can’t breathe, I’m sorry,” she continues, while coughing and gagging. “I got hit in the leg.”
Miracle then shows her right calf to the camera, where a pepper ball had left chemical irritant powder upon impact.
“They’re shooting something, pepper balls or something,” she says, before pointing to a lone federal officer standing near the federal building.
Miracle did not respond to a request from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker for additional comment. But in a post on Instagram the following day, she wrote to thank viewers for their concern and to say that her team was safe.
“We got out of there right after this live shot as the situation became more chaotic,” she added. “This happened after a long day of peaceful protests throughout Los Angeles.”
The actions of DHS on Jan. 30 appeared to violate California law prohibiting law enforcement from using violent protest policing tactics with members of the press, which courts reinforced with a preliminary injunction last year.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a Jan. 31 post on his social media platform, President Donald Trump wrote that federal agents would participate in policing protests only if requested, but that he had instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol “to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property.”
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.