Photojournalist attacked while covering Trump protest in Oakland

A graduate student studying photojournalism at UC Berkeley was sent to an emergency room with a fractured cheekbone and abrasions after four agitators attacked him for taking photos while they looted and vandalized Oakland businesses Wednesday night.

Kyle Ludowitz, 27, was photographing a demonstration against President-elect Donald Trump that began peacefully but devolved as the night wore on into smaller groups, some of which destroyed storefronts or threw bottles at police officers.

Ludowitz, who spent five years covering conflict zones in the Middle East, said he never experienced anything quite like the Wednesday night attack, in which both his cameras were destroyed.

He said the people who attacked him on Broadway near 19th Street were anarchists in masks and that they began hitting and kicking him for taking photos. They tried to grab his cameras, too, he said.

A few other protesters tried to step in to help him, Ludowitz said, but he was already injured and his cameras wrecked. He was later released from a hospital’s emergency room around 1 a.m.

Anti Donald Trump protest in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. Anti Donald Trump protest in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 65 Caption Close Photojournalist attacked while covering Trump protest in Oakland 1 / 65 Back to Gallery

“Particularly with the election of Donald Trump, there’s a very strong sentiment against the media,” he said. “I was expecting more violence from the police, so this caught me off guard.”

Ludowitz, who lives in Oakland, said he didn’t blame city residents for the violence, believing most of it was caused by people coming from other areas to subvert the demonstration.

Despite his injuries, Ludowitz said he’ll be back covering other protests that may happen this week.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov