Father Claims Self-Defense After Allegedly Shoving Reporter at Heated Anti-ICE Protest

A turbulent anti-ICE protest in Minnesota on Saturday reportedly turned violent, resulting in the alleged assault of a conservative reporter on camera. The incident unfolded during the “F*** ICE Day” demonstration in Minneapolis, where journalist Savanah Hernandez was on assignment.

Hernandez, affiliated with Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group established by Charlie Kirk, found herself at the center of unwanted attention. As the protestors realized her connection to TPUSA, a large and aggressive crowd began to surround her.

Among the protestors was Paige Ostroushko, who blew a whistle directly into Hernandez’s ear, escalating the confrontation. The situation intensified when Paige’s father, Chris Ostroushko, allegedly pushed Hernandez to the ground, adding physical assault to the mix.

The attack left Hernandez with broken glasses, and she later shared with Fox News Digital that she sustained a concussion and multiple sprains as a result of the incident. The altercation underscored the volatility and tensions present at the protest.

Hernandez’s glasses were broken, and she told Fox News Digital that she suffered a concussion and multiple sprains.

Chris and his wife, DeYanna Ostroushko, appeared on a small podcast episode published on Wednesday and shared their account of what happened, which contradicted what could be seen in the video of the assault. 

‘We are absolutely not violent people. In fact, we tend to shy away from it,’ Chris said on a recent episode of Pushing the Limits. 

‘In fact, that day, you’ll see I was not even up in the front at all during this whole event. I just stayed back and kind of watched what was going on.’

A conservative reporter named Savanah Hernandez was assaulted at an anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis on Saturday. One of the protestors is pictured whistling directly in her ear

Hernandez was pushed to the ground by a man named Chris Ostroushko, who is the father of the protestor whistling in the above picture. Chris is pictured shouting at Hernandez

Hernandez is a reporter for Turning Point USA, the conservative advocacy group founded by Charlie Kirk. Hernandez is pictured with Kirk 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Hernandez pushed back on Chris’s claim and said: ‘If I hit them first, it would be on camera.

‘There’s multiple angles of Paige walking up to me as I’m standing by myself. And also her mom is the first person who came up to start harassing me.’

Hernandez explained that she was shoved by DeYanna and Chris multiple times before the father ‘instructed his daughter on camera to go and “blow the whistle in my effing ear.”‘

In the video, Hernandez can be seen putting her hand up next to her face while Paige blows the whistle directly into her ear. At one point, it appears that the conservative reporter pushed Paige away to get her to stop whistling at her. 

That is when all hell broke loose, and Paige began shouting, ‘You hit me!’ 

DeYanna then comes up and shoves Hernandez while saying, ‘You f***ing hit my daughter?’ Hernandez then pushed back, said ‘Get the f*** off of me!’ and began walking away.

Chris quickly walked up while Hernandez had her back turned and aggressively shoved her to the ground while saying, ‘You f***ing touched my daughter!’ 

Paige can then be seen getting into Hernandez’s face while she gets up and saying, ‘Stupid b****, you f***ing touched me! You f***ing touched me!’ 

Two of the protestors caught on camera appeared on a small podcast and disputed Hernandez’s account of what happened. Chris and DeYanna Ostroushko are pictured with the host of the podcast (center) and one of their attorneys (right)

Paige Ostroushko (pictured) was the third person caught on camera harassing Hernandez. She is the one who whistled directly into the conservative reporter’s ear

On the podcast episode, DeYanna claimed that Hernandez ‘backhanded’ Paige before Chris shoved the reporter to the floor. That appears to have been in reference to Hernandez pushing the daughter while protecting herself from the whistling. 

Trisha Pohland, an attorney for the Ostroushko family, told Fox News Digital: ‘Based off what I’ve seen, she went and hit Paige in the face when Paige was blowing a whistle… which she has every right to do and Savanah was the one that hit her.’ 

Hernandez told the outlet that the family of aggressive protestors ‘refused to leave me alone,’ and that ‘Every single time they attacked me was while I was trying to leave.’

Vice President JD Vance and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have said that the FBI has opened an investigation into the assault. 

‘I talked to Kash Patel… and I said, “I assume we’re doing something here,” and he said, “Yes, we’ve had multiple agents on the ground. We’ve already talked to Savanah,”‘ the vice president said. 

‘We’re gonna use the video to try to go after the people who assaulted her, and then try to defund the networks that fund those radicals who are going around assaulting activists,’ Vance concluded. 

On X, Hernandez thanked TPUSA leadership, including Erika Kirk, for reaching out to her and providing support. 

She also wrote: ‘I’ve never asked for security when conducting point-and-shoot journalism, because I’ve always had some semblance of hope that I still live in a safe country. 

Hernandez said the Ostroushko family refused to leave her alone and attacked her every time she tried to leave the protest. Hernandez is pictured dressed up for a Mar-a-Lago event

Hernandez said that Turning Point USA will provide her with security in the future ‘due to the violent nature of the left wing’

‘However, after Saturday TPUSA ensured that I will have new security protocols moving forward due to the violent nature of the left-wing.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to TPUSA and the Ostroushko family’s lawyers for comment.