{"id":530845,"date":"2026-01-20T22:50:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/530845\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T22:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:50:30","slug":"photographer-tosses-his-leica-away-from-ice-as-hes-tackled-to-the-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/530845\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Tosses His Leica Away From ICE as He’s Tackled to the Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Photojournalist John Abernathy<\/a> was tackled by ICE agents in Minneapolis last week and his last-ditch effort to save his camera was successful thanks to fellow photographer Pierre Lavie<\/a>, who captured Abernathy\u2019s camera-saving toss in a now-viral image. Lavie\u2019s powerful portrait reflects the importance of photojournalism, captures the risks photographers face in the field, and, to the benefit of Leica, shows how rugged the company\u2019s cameras are. <\/p>\n

Online commenters are already wondering whether Abernathy and the photographer who captured the image of Abernathy, Pierre Lavie<\/a>, could win a Pulitzer Prize for their work on the ground in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n

Tensions in Minneapolis are at a boiling point following the killing<\/a> of 37-year-old Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross<\/a>. The killing, which the federal government has controversially claimed was justified, has led to significant civil unrest and ongoing protests in Minnesota and beyond. Photographers like Abernathy and Lavie are on the streets documenting the protests and ongoing interactions between protestors and federal law enforcement agents. <\/p>\n

A Poignant Portrait of the Fight for Truth <\/p>\n

When photographing protests and ICE activity last week, January 15, Abernathy was violently tackled from behind by ICE agents and quickly surrounded by what Abernathy describes<\/a> as \u201cabout 50 border police.\u201d <\/p>\n

While being tackled, Abernathy made the swift decision to throw his camera, a Leica M10-R with a 28mm lens, and his phone toward Lavie while pinned to the ground. <\/p>\n

If ICE agents got their hands on Abernathy\u2019s camera, it would be impossible to predict what would have happened to it or his images. While photojournalists and citizens have First Amendment rights<\/a> that should prevent law enforcement from deleting photos from a camera, or even accessing them without a warrant, Abernathy\u2019s fear is entirely reasonable<\/a>. If ICE agents deleted Abernathy\u2019s photos, he may have had little recourse, whether or not it was illegal. <\/p>\n

Lavie captured the sequence of events, and 17 of his photos are presented in chronological order below, showing the lead-up to Abernathy being tackled to the ground, Abernathy throwing Lavie his Leica camera and phone, and the result of Abernathy being pepper-sprayed in the face. Looking at the EXIF data for the photos, the time from when Abernathy was first hit from behind by federal agents to him throwing his Leica M10-R took about five seconds. Just a few seconds later, Abernathy threw his phone. And then he was surrounded and vanished into a throng of federal agents. From being pushed from behind to being fully restrained took about eight seconds. <\/p>\n

\"PolicePierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"PolicePierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera
\n \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera
\n \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"PolicePierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera \"APierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I threw [my camera], somehow it miraculously landed on the base plate which is a non-Leica hand grip,\u201d Abernathy tells PetaPixel. \u201cWhen I finally got it back, there were just a few scratches some of them sort of deep on the base plate.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AAbernathy\u2019s mostly undamaged Leica M10-R on top of his citation, more on that later. From Peaceful Protest to Being Tackled, Restrained, Detained, and Charged <\/p>\n

As for how the situation went from peaceful but tense to chaotic and violent, Abernathy tells PetaPixel that far-right agitators arrived on the scene and instantly ratcheted up the energy. <\/p>\n

\u201c[Law enforcement] did a couple of pushes again, and at some point, I didn\u2019t know they were coming and I was facing away from them and they hit me from behind and I was on the ground. I literally didn\u2019t know what happened. I\u2019m looking at the ground wondering\u2026 it took me a while before I was present with what was going on,\u201d Abernathy says. <\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThey were screaming at me. I felt at least two knees on my back and they\u2019re like, \u2018We got you because we saw you bear spraying people. And I\u2019m like, \u2018No, you didn\u2019t.\u2019 And they said, \u2018Yes, we did.\u2019 And they\u2019re screaming at me to put my hands behind my back but my arms are underneath me and I think my elbows are underneath me at one point and their knees are on top of me, holding me down. It\u2019s not exactly easy to get my arms out but they\u2019re yelling at me and they set off tear gas, I don\u2019t know exactly where it was, but I would assume a foot or three feet because it was a dark cloud that was hard to see through,\u201d the photographer continues. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gagging and literally thought I\u2019m going to pass out. I couldn\u2019t breathe. I was thinking I only have a couple of breaths left and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen after that. I had taken that last shot and I threw my camera. I lifted my head up and saw one photographer taking photos. I threw my camera and then I threw my phone.\u201d <\/p>\n

Abernathy remarks that a moment that very clearly stands out for him among a sea of blurry ones is his disappointment that he only threw his phone maybe a foot or two. <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m gagging and literally thought I\u2019m going to pass out. I couldn\u2019t breathe. I was thinking I only have a couple of breaths left and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen after that.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the disappointments, my biggest disappointment was that I didn\u2019t throw my phone very far and the agent\u2019s foot went down on it. It\u2019s a seemingly insignificant moment, but it stood out in my head in that intense moment for some reason. It\u2019s so bizarre.\u201d <\/p>\n

What felt like an eternity to Abernathy, from him being hit from behind to being on the ground to being pinned and throwing his camera and phone, took less than 10 seconds. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s insane to me,\u201d Abernathy says of the timeline PetaPixel outlined. \u201cI remember so many things in that brief moment. That\u2019s insane to me. There\u2019s so many things that went through my head. It was literally everything that went through my head. That\u2019s mind blowing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Two Vastly Different Perspectives Captured by Two Photographers Just Feet Apart From Each Other <\/p>\n

Sometime in the five seconds from being tackled to throwing his camera toward one of the few faces he could see, photographer Pierre Lavie, Abernathy took a photo from the ground, showing his perspective of being detained by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). <\/p>\n

\"APhoto by John Abernathy, captured after being tackled from behind by federal agents and before throwing his camera toward Pierre Lavie, then a mystery photographer to Abernathy. This was captured during a very short, roughly four-second window, during which time Abernathy was pinned to the ground by federal law enforcement agents. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many things going on [in my photo],\u201d Abernathy says. \u201cI\u2019ve had people comment, send me comments about that image over and over everyday and some of them are people that have been detained and have said, \u2018This is the photo that makes me feel how I felt when I was detained.’\u201d <\/p>\n

As Abernathy tells PetaPixel, his and Lavie\u2019s photos are mirrored images. On the one hand, Lavie\u2019s photo shows Abernathy, in a moment of desperation, throwing his camera to preserve his images and keep it out of ICE\u2019s hands, where it is impossible to know what would have happened. Abernathy\u2019s photo, taken just a couple of seconds after being tackled and about that long before he threw his camera to an unknown fate, shows the same scene from just a few feet away but from an entirely different perspective. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey show two different perspectives of the same thing. Nobody\u2019s really seen the photo from the inside, from being taken by ICE. So that one photo stands out,\u201d Abernathy remarks. \u201cAnd [Pierre\u2019s] photo stands out because it\u2019s showing the struggle, not only of journalism, but the struggle of how do we as individuals fight against this, this big army of whatever you wanna call \u2019em. I don\u2019t know.\u201d <\/p>\n

There was even a third perspective of this, as sketch artist Isabelle Brourman<\/a> was on the scene drawing the events as they happened, including Abernathy being pepper-sprayed in the face. Brourman even captured the details of Abernathy throwing his camera and an agent stepping on his phone. It is a remarkable scene, and Brourman can be seen in the background of one of Lavie\u2019s photos, wearing a hood and a gas mask, drawing. <\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

\"ASketch artist Isabelle Brourman is highlighted in this photo by Pierre Lavie \/ @just1dudewithacamera <\/p>\n

After a lengthy, successful career as a commercial photographer, where Abernathy had complete control over everything, being out on the streets as an independent journalist has meant having nearly no control. This is especially true when being forcibly restrained on the ground while unable to breathe or see clearly. And yet, Abernathy\u2019s singular image is picture-perfect. The composition, the lines, the way all the legs fit together like a terrifying, suffocating puzzle are remarkable. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor all those things to line up, and how symbolic it is, the angle of the legs, how aggressive it feels, the guns, my phone being right there, not looking through the camera, just pointing it and shooting is like, it\u2019s just, I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s just\u2026 how stuff lines up is amazing,\u201d Abernathy laughs. <\/p>\n

\u201dThis is the photo that makes me feel how I felt when I was detained.\u201d An Unexpected and Unprecedented Whirlwind of Mostly Support <\/p>\n

While Abernathy readily admits he would have happily avoided the situation altogether \u2014 he was shot twice by less-lethal rounds, which \u201churts like hell,\u201d and he has wounds and chemical burns and has daily eye drops on his schedule for the foreseeable future \u2014 he has been extremely touched by the support and the response he has received online. <\/p>\n

He has also received countless of hate messages, primarily on Facebook. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut the hate doesn\u2019t bother me anymore. I don\u2019t really care. Those people don\u2019t have a clue what\u2019s going on and the love I get far outweighs all the hate I\u2019m getting\u2026 which is insane thing for people to hate me for taking pictures, for getting tackled. They hate me because I was tackled. Like, okay.\u201d <\/p>\n

For someone who has spent his career on one side of the camera, it is quite the dramatic shift to wind up on the other side of it, especially in a viral, powerful portrait. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy,\u201d Abernathy says, clearly emotional, of the response to Lavie\u2019s portrait of him and the photo he captured while being pinned. \u201cI get tears in my eyes almost every day from comments that are coming in. Just super, super kind, super thankful what they think of me when they don\u2019t know me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cJust thinking about it now, it\u2019s overwhelming. I\u2019m so grateful for all of it. I\u2019m grateful for Pierre. I\u2019m grateful for the photo. I\u2019m grateful for the incredible outpouring of people saying how good I\u2019m doing and, or not how good I\u2019m doing but how good it is that I\u2019m standing up for America against this\u2026 which I\u2019m not actually,\u201d Abernathy catches himself. \u201cI\u2019m not standing up, but the symbolism of this photo is intense.\u201d <\/p>\n

Abernathy is clear that he was there not as part of any protest but as a journalist there to do a job, like he is whenever he is capturing photos of protests, as he did just two days after being tackled, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, shot with less-lethal rounds, detained, and ultimately cited. <\/p>\n

The citation, by the way, is for \u201cimpeding and obstructing normal access,\u201d a charge Abernathy calls \u201cbullshit\u201d and notes he will \u201cnot be pleading guilty\u201d to. The punishment is a fine if Abernathy is found guilty. <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m so grateful for all of it. I\u2019m grateful for Pierre. I\u2019m grateful for the photo.\u2019 From Strangers to Friends <\/p>\n

Speaking of Pierre, Abernathy did not know Pierre Lavie before January 15. He only met him after he tracked down his iPhone and the Leica M-10R. Abernathy\u2019s wife remotely tracked the phone from Florida, and Abernathy\u2019s neighbor, Madeleine Dittmer, drove John to meet Lavie. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know if someone stole or if someone kept it for me,\u201d Abernathy says of his camera and phone. At first, he didn\u2019t know who might have had his stuff, whether it was an ICE agent or the photographer he\u2019d thrown his camera toward. <\/p>\n

\"TwoPierre Lavie (left) and John Abernathy (right) after the two met up for Abernathy to recover his camera and phone. | Photo by Madeleine Dittmer <\/p>\n

Thankfully, Pierre Lavie had both the phone and the camera, and Dittmer grabbed a portrait of the fateful meeting. Abernathy and Lavie quickly bonded and \u201cknow each other really well now,\u201d as Abernathy says. <\/p>\n

In addition to Abernathy\u2019s wife tracking down John\u2019s phone, his daughter also plays an important role in this story. Abernathy\u2019s daughter, Pieper Lynn<\/a>, handles his social media accounts for him, a monumental task these days, and has expressed significant pride in her dad\u2019s work. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad\u2019s the guy who throws his Leica so the truth survives,\u201d she wrote on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cICE tackled, tear-gassed, shot rubber bullets, maced directly in his eyes, and detained him at the Whipple Federal Building on Jan 15th. Photographers & journalists should not be treated as threats for documenting what they witness.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2018Just Trying to Get the Story Told As Best I Can\u2019 <\/p>\n

John Abernathy\u2019s commitment to documenting the truth, no matter the risk, has resonated with many, as has Pierre Lavie\u2019s exceptional photos of the moment Abernathy threw his Leica and was pinned to the ground and then surrounded by ICE agents. After being tackled, restrained, and tear-gassed on the streets of Minneapolis, Abernathy wasted no time getting back to capturing photos. He has been out in the field in the days since, capturing more images<\/a> with his now-mythical Leica, and has no plans of stopping. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just me out there, taking photos without support of a newspaper or agency,\u201d Abernathy tells PetaPixel. \u201cJust trying to get the story told as best as I can.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe world needs to see what\u2019s happening here,\u201d Abernathy says. <\/p>\n

Image credits:<\/strong> John Abernathy (Instagram<\/a>, Threads<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>), Pierre Lavie (Instagram<\/a>, Threads<\/a>) <\/p>\n