ICE Is Hunting Down TikTok Journalists

ICE Is Hunting Down TikTok Journalists

From Taylor Lorenz’s Power User by Taylor Lorenz

September 4, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the case of journalist Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who was shot by ICE and is currently detained, highlighting issues of independent journalism and government overreach.

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." SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at https://www.usermag.co Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz 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…

People in this episode

Host: Taylor Lorenz

Guest: Adam Rose

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Freedom of the Press Foundation, ICE

Places: Los Angeles, Mojave Desert

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