Minneapolis photographer John Abernathy was flat on the ground. He had at least one federal officer kneeling behind him. He heard someone yell behind his arm, but his arm was half pinned under him. Around him dozens of officers had deployed something—tear gas, he thought—that made it difficult to see or breathe. He thought he could puke or pass out.
He feared what might happen if federal agents got hold of his equipment. So when he locked eyes with another photographer, he took his camera — a Leica M10-R with a 28-millimeter lens — and threw it away, moments later putting his cellphone away from him.
Photographer John Abernathy says he threw his camera at Pierre Lavie so it wouldn’t be confiscated by federal authorities. Photo: Pierre Lavie/@just1dudewithacamera
Pierre Lavie, a fellow photojournalist, grabbed the Leica by the strap and brought it close to his body. When he reached Abernathy’s phone, which had only traveled a couple of feet, a federal officer repeatedly tried to intercept it.
“I had to move the Hungry Hippo in and out of my hand so it wouldn’t step on it, and I finally managed to grab it and take it away,” LaVey told HuffPost.
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It’s a familiar sight for both. Abernathy, who had done it before Photography Working for advertising and magazines, he said he set out to document protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown and the killing of Renee Goode in Minneapolis “to show what was going on.” LaVey, a member of the National Press Photographers Association from Dallas, came from New Orleans, where he was also filming ICE activity to cover the unrest.
On Thursday, January 15, the two were outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, which has recently been used to house people detained by ICE officials.When Abernathy saw her “protesters” — pro-ICE protesters — carrying bear spray, she grabbed a can from someone and tossed it aside so it wouldn’t get near her.
He speculated why he was targeted by federal agents, who shouted that they saw him splashing into the crowd, though he said they did not provide evidence to support that after they handcuffed him and took him inside the Whipple Building. (He received a citation, but has yet to receive a court date.)
Photographer John Abernathy is seen being pushed to the ground as federal immigration officials confront protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on January 15 in Minneapolis. via the Associated Press
As he struggled under the agents, he struggled to breathe.
“I couldn’t breathe. I screamed my name because I didn’t know what was going to happen, and I subconsciously screamed ‘I can’t breathe,’ and when it came out, I thought about George Floyd, and I thought, ‘Oh ****, this is getting real,'” he said.
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Lavie, who has traveled the United States in recent months documenting ICE activity, said officers working in Minneapolis are tougher than he’s seen anywhere else, doing things like shooting pepper spray into the air in vehicles to get people out.
“They’re making more threats right away instead of de-escalating the situation,” he said.
“Their unprofessionalism bothers me as an observer because I see it as a short distance to really hurt someone,” he added. “It’s reckless and dangerous.”
Despite chemical burns to his eyes, pepper spray wounds and abrasions from hitting the ground, Abernathy did not go to the hospital after being released from custody.
John Abernathy says he suffered multiple injuries after being hit by pepper spray and confronted by federal officers. Photos: John Abernathy
Instead, he began searching for his phone and camera, though he had no clear idea who scooped them up, due to the chemical agent.
“I found some guy with a bullhorn, and I asked him to walk up and down and see if anyone had my camera, and no one did,” he said.
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He enlisted the help of his wife using the Find My iPhone feature. At the same time, Lavi handed over the device to another journalist traveling with him, who tried to find the owner using the contact information on the phone’s medical ID.
The two eventually reunited at a hotel where they first met.
“He got out of the car and gave me a big handshake and a hug and said, ‘Thank you so much,'” LaVey said, adding Abernathy, “was a little beat up, but he’s obviously a tough guy and a quick thinker, and he looked great.”
After retrieving his camera, Abernathy went to the hospital, where he discovered the last few pictures the officers had captured before they took him down.
This is one of the last two photos taken by photographer John Abernethy before he was confronted by ICE agents in Minneapolis. John Abernathy
This is one of the last two photos taken by photographer Abernathy before he was confronted by ICE agents in Minneapolis. John Abernathy
Abernathy said he is fine now, but tired and constantly shaking.
“I don’t know if it’s a nervous system response to stress or tear gas or what,” he said.
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Lavie said Abernathy didn’t stay long, seeing him make more images Saturday after he tackled Thursday.
“We don’t like to stop,” LaVey said.
Abernathy noted that until last week he had never been tackled, handcuffed or pepper sprayed, but he will continue to document what is happening.
“The world needs to see this, not just people here,” he said, “because the whole world needs to come to this.”
American updates
Read the original at HuffPost
