Members of the U.S. National Guard stand in front of buildings on Tuesday in Los Angeles. More than two dozen journalists have been injured while covering protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. The Associated Press

More than two dozen journalists have been injured or roughed up while covering protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, leading press freedom groups to question whether law enforcement has been deliberately targeting reporters on the story.

Journalists have been pelted with rubber bullets or pepper spray, including an Australian TV reporter struck while doing a live shot and a New York Post reporter left with a giant welt on his forehead after taking a direct hit. A CNN crew was briefly detained then released on Monday night.

The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said there have been at least 31 attacks on journalists — 27 from law enforcement — since the demonstrations started.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, the First Amendment Coalition and Freedom of the Press Foundation were among the groups to express concern to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. In a letter, they said “federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.”

Noem hasn’t replied, David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said Tuesday. A Noem spokesperson didn’t have an immediate comment for The Associated Press.

Experts say the apparent hostility toward journalists, or a disregard for their role and safety, became particularly visible during demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in 2020. A troubling indication of a decline in press freedom is the rapid escalation of threats journalists face in the United States, said Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.

While most journalists covering wars receive training and safety equipment, it is apparent that many don’t have similar protection when assigned to events like the demonstrations, he said.

“The First Amendment is only as strong as the safety of the journalists covering these events,” Shapiro said.

On Sunday, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting live, with a microphone in her hand, from protests in downtown Los Angeles. Widely circulated video shows her crying out in pain and clutching her lower leg.

New York Post photographer Toby Canham was overlooking the 101 freeway when he was hit. He spent Monday in the hospital with whiplash and neck pain, and left with a red mark on his forehead.

“I completely understand being in the position where you could get injured,” Canham said. “But at the same time, there was no justification for even aiming the rifle at me and pulling the trigger, so I’m a bit pissed off about that, to be honest.”