‘I just got hit’: CNN reporter struck by pepper ball live on air during chaotic protest

A chaotic scene unfolded Friday live on CNN as anti-ICE protests escalated in downtown Los Angeles, where reporter Veronica Miracle visibly struggled on camera.

During a live report from the demonstration, Miracle broke into a coughing fit after she and others in the area were hit with pepper spray.

“OK, I just got hit. Hold on. Hold on…I can’t breathe!” she said, gasping as she continued her report on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

“Take your time, take your time…let’s make sure Veronica’s OK,” CNN anchor Erin Burnett said.

Miracle, whose leg appeared to be struck by a projectile that left a white mark on her jeans, described the scene Friday as something she had never seen before in her years covering protests in the area.

“We just all got pepper-sprayed, and so I’m just still recovering from that,” the CNN correspondent said. “There’s so much of the pepper spray still in the air, and so many people around us coughing and gagging, including us.”

“I’ve never seen this before,” she added. The protest began earlier in the day at City Hall and grew increasingly intense as demonstrators made it onto ICE property, according to the live report.

Despite the intense scene, Miracle continued to report live as demonstrators, many of whom wore gas masks, continued in Los Angeles and other major cities across the U.S.