Photojournalist believes anarchists attacked him during Oakland protests

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - A photojournalist and UC Berkeley graduate student covering one of the recent protests in Oakland was attacked and beaten.

Photojournalist Kyle Ludowitz says his experience in covering American protests has him very certain that his attackers were anarchists - not the demonstrators marching through Oakland.

He says they were dressed in all black, faces were covered by scarves or masks, carrying backpacks, and were violent with members of the media.
Ludowitz has covered conflict zones in Egypt and Syria, and for several years, he's covered protests in Oakland.

On Wednesday night, Ludowitz says he was on Broadway between 17th and 19th streets, a street police hadn't made it to, and a group of people were vandalizing the block.

Ludowitz said he started taking pictures of bonfires being set in the street when a group smashed through this store front window behind him.

It was then, that Ludowitz said someone blindsided him, hitting him in the left side of his face. He fell down. "And then a mob of people came up, maybe four. White men in their early to mid-20s, that were masked, kept attacking me. They hit me multiple times in my face and then it turned into a tug of war for my camera."

Ludowitz lost one camera to his attackers and the camera around his neck was ripped a part.
He said three or four peaceful protesters came to his rescue, pulling his attackers off of him and escorting him to the end of the block to get help.

Ludowitz was treated at the hospital and suffered a fractured cheekbone, but did not have a concussion.
He was out Wednesday night reporting for the online news site - Oakland North.
Ludowitz filed a police report with Oakland police and is now working on getting replacement cameras.