Man jumps from truck, charges TV reporter doing live storm broadcast in MS, video shows
UPDATE:
An arrest warrant has been issued for an Ohio man accused of accosting an MSNBC reporter live on-air, according to Gulfport, Mississippi, police.
Authorities identified the man Tuesday as Benjamin Dagley of Wooster, Ohio.
Dagley, who’s on probation for unrelated charges out of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, is wanted on two charges of simple assault following Monday’s incident in Gulfport. Authorities said he was last seen driving a white Ford F-150 pickup truck with the Ohio tag PJR1745.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call 911.
ORIGINAL STORY:
An MSNBC reporter is OK after being accosted by a passerby during a live broadcast from the Mississippi coast on Monday.
Correspondent Shaquille Brewster was delivering a live report from Gulfport, Mississippi, when a passerby pulled up in a white pickup truck, hopped out and made a beeline for Brewster and his crew, video shows.
The tense incident unfolded live on-air during ongoing coverage of Tropical Depression Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday. The storm left a path of destruction, snapping trees, leveling buildings and dumping excessive amounts of rain that caused significant flooding in areas along the Gulf Coast.
Brewster tried carrying on with his broadcast and at one point repositioned himself away from the man, who was heard yelling and screaming off camera, according to the video. The man continued ranting, however.
As Brewster attempted to throw the show back to anchor Craig Melvin, the man is seen running up and getting in the reporter’s face before he’s blocked by Brewster’s mic. The camera then quickly cuts away.
“There’s a lot of crazy out there,” Melvin said of the incident. “A lot of crazy. ... We’ll make sure Shaq is OK.”
Gulfport police said they identified the man after asking for the public’s help Monday afternoon. His name hasn’t been released, however.
“The suspect was described as a white male with brown hair, wearing a white shirt, sunglasses around his neck, and dark pants,” according to a department news release obtained by McClatchy News.
He was last seen driving a white Ford F-150 pickup truck with an Ohio tag.
Later on Twitter, Brewster confirmed that he was OK and thanked the viewers for their words of support.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Man jumps from truck, charges TV reporter doing live storm broadcast in MS, video shows."