Taylor Lorenz’s Power User
Taylor Lorenz’s Power User

ICE Is Hunting Down TikTok Journalists

September 4, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

ICE Is Hunting Down TikTok Journalists

On a quiet street in South Los Angeles last October, independent journalist Richard Perez was sitting in his car when federal agents in large SUVs and pickup trucks pinned him in from all sides. Without warning, masked agents rushed his vehicle, smashed his window, and shot him in the arm. Perez was terrified—he later described it as feeling like a cartel ambush. But what happened next is even more disturbing: after Perez was treated at a hospital and all criminal charges against him were dropped, ICE transferred him to a detention facility in the Mojave Desert, where he has now been held for over 300 days. His gunshot wound remains improperly treated, cockroaches infest the cells, and worm-like larvae swim in the drinking water.

Adam Rose, deputy director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, has been documenting Perez's case. He argues that "perhaps no other independent journalist has endured such a sustained sequence of violence, prosecution, and imprisonment at the hands of the government than Richard." The episode lays out how a moral panic about kids' online safety, combined with aggressive federal enforcement, is creating a chilling effect on independent journalism across the country.

A Journalist Targeted for Documenting ICE

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (03:18) **Introducing the Case of Richard Perez** - Adam Rose, deputy director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, joins Taylor to discuss the case of independent journalist Richard Perez, who has endured a sustained sequence of violence, prosecution, and imprisonment by the government.
  • 2 (05:03) **First Incident: ICE Vehicle Strikes Richard** - In June, Richard was struck by an ICE vehicle while filming, then handcuffed and left on the side of the road by agents while they continued working.
  • 3 (07:37) **Second Incident: ICE Ambush and Shooting** - In October, ICE agents ambushed Richard in his car, smashed his window, and shot him in the arm, all while he was engaged in First Amendment protected activity.
  • 4 (11:35) **Richard's Detention and Horrific Conditions** - After being treated for his gunshot wound, Richard was taken to the Adelanto ICE detention facility in the Mojave Desert, where he has been held for nearly a year.
  • 5 (13:37) **Coordinated Crackdown on Independent Journalists** - Adam explains that the targeting of independent journalists is widespread, happening in Newark, Chicago, and Los Angeles, with the government treating the act of filming as violence.
  • 6 (14:40) **The First Amendment Protects All Journalists** - Adam argues that the First Amendment was designed to protect independent pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, not just corporate media outlets like the New York Times.
  • 7 (17:40) **The Chilling Effect on Journalism** - Taylor and Adam discuss how the government's targeting is causing journalists to self-censor, with one content creator pivoting to video games to avoid trouble.

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Show Notes

ICE shot a TikTok journalist covering raids in Los Angeles then locked him in desert detention for 300 days (he is still there) with a festering gunshot wound, worms in his drinking water and cockroaches in his cell.

This is the story of Carlitos Ricardo Parias known online as Richard LA or Richard Noticias LA and what it reveals about the war on independent journalism under the guise of "kids online safety" and "cracking down on social media addiction."

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In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I'm joined by Adam Rose, Deputy Director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to investigate the horrifying case of Richard Parias. Richard is an independent community journalist in Los Angeles who spent months documenting immigration sweeps, neighborhood stories, and ICE activities directly on TikTok and Instagram. 

After being struck by an ICE vehicle, ambushed on a quiet residential street, and shot by a federal agent who juggled his sidearm between hands, Richard found himself trapped in a dystopian legal nightmare. Despite having all criminal charges dropped, federal agents erased surveillance footage of the incident and sent Richard to a sweltering detention facility in the Mojave Desert, where he is still trapped and struggling to get basic medical care. 

Adam's story: https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/ (PLEASE SHARE!!!!) 

We break down how independent journalism has evolved away from legacy newsrooms into livestreams, citizen journalism, and social media content creators, and how the government is pushing "kids online safety" laws to aggressively unmask journalists, enact real-name ID mandates via "age verification", and sweeping digital censorship laws, all under the guise of child safety. 

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