How to film federal agents in the field — advice for independent journalists

Following the deaths of Renée Nicole Good, Keith Porter, and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal officers in late 2025 and January 2026, you’ve likely seen guidance for journalists on filming federal officers in the field.

Most of it is aimed at those in newsrooms with resources, like company gear, or even safety training or consultants. Yet many independent and freelance journalists are working on the ground right now without such institutional support.

So, as we’ve reflected on the impact of the massive immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota and the increase in incidents of violence against journalists covering these operations throughout the country, we spoke with two independent journalists about how they approach filming federal officers.

First, let’s talk about the film settings, tools, and in-field security tactics those journalists are using in the field today. Then, let’s discuss additional digital security considerations that intersect with those choices. We hope this review is helpful to journalists who are considering or doing this kind of field work.

What are journalists doing on the ground?

Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a freelance photojournalist who produces his own content and has a loyal following on Bluesky, has spent the past few years documenting what he calls the “occupation” by federal agents across the country, particularly their activities on city streets. Beckner-Carmitchel emphasized that “there’s no established protocol that’s best for everyone to follow. We are all figuring it out as we go along, and we’re all comparing notes.”

He uses a press pass when in the field and tells us that before he starts filming agents in action, he tends to announce his presence, show his credential if he is close enough for them to see, and move slowly and with intention while maintaining some distance, without impeding footage collection.

He also notes that if there are rapid responders or other groups of citizen activists on the scene, he tries very hard to maintain a distance from them to distinguish himself and his actions from theirs. He respects what they are doing, but says it’s important to make it “as clear as possible that what I’m doing is not the same thing that they’re doing.”

While the First Amendment applies to both activities, journalists documenting federal agents is a distinct act, with different goals and risks than those of the constitutional observers and protesters who may also be filming.

Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora is an independent “movement journalist” who covers protests and has her own sizable audience on Bluesky. She also shared insights from her time covering federal agents, including Operation Metro Surge. Ben-Ora’s work focuses on documenting the state’s response and how it treats people on the front lines of civil rights actions.

In contrast to Beckner-Carmitchel, Ben-Ora does not wear a press pass. It’s true that a credential can be protective, depending on your threat model and context, but there is also a chance that identifying as press could put one at higher risk of retaliation from bad actors.

If you’re debating whether or not to visibly identify as press in the field, our friends at Reporter Without Borders have a guide where they dive into the pros and cons of press passes and visibly marking yourself as press.

Using gear, protectively

Beckner-Carmitchel takes video with his phone and uses a DSLR camera for still shots. Importantly, when he is ready to shoot, he makes sure that at least one camera lens is on the agents at all times, even if it means filming with his phone in one hand and taking photos with his camera in the other.

Agents have gotten verbally aggressive with him, and he sees continuous footage as not only a thorough journalistic record but also a layer of protection for him. It’s also a legal record, if a confrontation were to occur.

Both journalists recommended using the buddy system whenever possible in the field. The more eyes and cameras on the activities, the better. Our friends at Prism have some great tips on further operational and physical security tactics for this scenario.

In the field, Ben-Ora always has her digital camera and iPhone, and many backup items (like extra batteries and SD cards) in a vest with extra pockets that also contain safety gear.

In addition, she removes all apps with sensitive accounts (e.g., email, banking) from her iPhone, except for her social media accounts, for which she has two-factor authentication enabled on her password manager, Bitwarden. She has also disabled Face ID and biometrics.

Beckner-Carmitchel has his camera (a Sony A7 III) and two phones, both iPhones, one for contacts and one for filming. In addition, he also carries a microphone and at least two external spare batteries for all his devices.

Using caution with livestreaming, uploading

While activists and other members of the public frequently livestream from the scene, both journalists emphasized that they do not. “I usually do not want people to know where I am at the exact moment,” explained Beckner-Carmitchel. Ben-Ora also cautioned against livestreaming unedited footage that could unintentionally be used to identify protesters or vulnerable people.

They both recommend, however, filming activities horizontally, to capture as much of the periphery as possible, and to set your phone to the highest resolution possible.

Once their footage is captured and they’re in a safe place, a distance from the action but still out in the field, both journalists review, edit, and upload to their social media accounts.

Ben-Ora avoids using any cloud syncing (“I don’t mess with iCloud at all,” she notes) and instead uses an SD card reader that plugs directly into her phone so she can upload and edit using iMovie. Beckner-Carmitchel disables auto-syncing and manually uploads the data he wants to keep to the cloud.

After they leave the field, both back up all their footage to external solid-state hard drives. Ben-Ora encrypts her drive with Disk Utility on her computer. Once all the raw data is backed up to the drives, she says she erases her SD cards.