L. Vural Elibol, chief videographer for Turkey\u2019s Anadolu Agency, was knocked to the ground by federal officers while reporting at the immigration court in New York, New York, on Sept. 30, 2025. He struck his head and was later hospitalized.<\/p>\n
Multiple journalists have reported access issues<\/a>, intimidation<\/a> and threats<\/a> when covering the court at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been arresting asylum-seekers following their hearings there since May, part of President Donald Trump\u2019s broader immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n Previously, on Sept. 18, independent journalist Michael Nigro<\/a> was assaulted by a man he identified as a plainclothes ICE officer while reporting on a lawmaker-led protest at the court.<\/p>\n Footage<\/a> of the Sept. 30 incident, capturFootage<\/a> of the Sept. 30 incident, captured by a fellow journalist, shows masked federal officers pulling amNewYork\u2019s Dean Moses<\/a> out of a public elevator while shouting at him, \u201cGet out of the fucking elevator!\u201d<\/p>\n Another officer standing outside the elevator doors can be seen shoving freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova<\/a> back, causing her and Elibol \u2014 who was standing behind her \u2014 to go crashing to the hallway floor.<\/p>\n Elibol is then seen on the floor in pain before emergency medical services arrive, place him in a neck brace and place him onto a stretcher.<\/p>\n Another journalist at the scene confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Elibol struck his head quite severely and was taken to a hospital for further monitoring and testing.<\/p>\n Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n City Comptroller Brad Lander quickly condemned the assault, writing<\/a> on the social platform X, \u201cAnother violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza\u2014this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n