Albanese Raises Concerns With Trump Administration After Aussie Journalist Shot in LA Riots

Albanese would not say if he will raise the incident with President Donald Trump at the G7 in Canada.

A smoke bomb arcs over a police line in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed his government has spoken to the U.S. administration after a journalist was hit with a rubber bullet in Los Angeles (LA).

Albanese said Nine News U.S. correspondent Lauren Tomasi had just been trying to do her job as a journalist.

“In LA, it is not unreasonable to think that she would not have been targeted with a rubber bullet. It is not unreasonable to think that she could go about her coverage, clearly, as people can see in the footage, clearly identified as media,” he told reporters at the National Press Club.

“And so we have already raised these issues with the U.S. administration. We don’t find it acceptable that it occurred. And we think the role of the media is particularly important.”

Albanese said the journalist was clearly identified and there was no ambiguity. However, footage of Tomasi shows she was not wearing anything that identified her as media.

Albanese said he had spoken to Tomasi, and she was “going OK.”

“She’s pretty resilient, I’ve got to say, but that footage was horrific. That was the footage of an Australian journalist doing what journalists do at their very best, at their very best, which is to go into an environment that’s not comfortable,” he said.

When asked whether he would raise the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump, the prime minister did not directly answer.

“Well, discussions I have with the president are discussions between myself and the president. That’s the way I deal with people—diplomatically, appropriately and with respect. So I'll leave the discussions with the president till they occur rather than foreshadow them,” Albanese said.

Tomasi was allegedly shot by a LA police officer, who are employed by the City of LA at the local level, not by the Trump administration.

What’s Going On?

The LA riots were triggered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that started on June 6. At least 45 people were arrested in California, including at a Home Depot store.

Tomasi was covering the protest when she was struck in the leg, with footage showing she looked relatively composed despite being hit by the rubber bullet.

In a post to X, Tomasi said, “Thanks for all your messages. I’m a bit sore, but I am okay. Important we keep on telling the stories that need to be told.”

Tomasi said on the Today Show she was just trying to do her best reporting at the scene.

“I have a bit of a bloody big old bruise and it’s a little bit sore but I am all OK, thank you,” she said.

“I feel embarrassed quite frankly, I really don’t want to be the story as part of this. We were just one the ground trying to do our job.”

She described what had happened as “unfortunate.”

“I think it’s a really crappy thing that’s happened but I really don’t want to be the story here, it is a really chaotic situation that is unfolding in Los Angeles,” she said.

Meanwhile, Trump has deployed 4,000 troops from the National Guard and 700 U.S. marines to deal with the situation.

Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on June 10 that without the National Guard and Marines, LA would be “burning to the ground.”

The state of California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over this National Guard deployment.