An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for a man who angrily confronted an NBC News reporter live on TV while covering Hurricane Ida in Gulfport, Miss., screaming, “Report accurately!” in his face.
The man, Benjamin Eugene Dagley, 54, of Wooster, Ohio, will be charged with two counts of simple assault, one count of disturbing the peace and one count of violating an emergency curfew, the Gulfport Police Department said.
Mr. Dagley, who is on probation for an incident in Ohio involving a break-in at a metal plating shop, may also be in violation of travel restrictions that are part of his probation, the police said.
Thank you to the help of the community, the individual has been identified. https://t.co/pEbiqGR4vr
— Gulfport Police Dept (@GulfportPolice) August 30, 2021
He was sentenced to five years of probation in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault, inducing panic, and vandalism, said Tyler Sinclair, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office in Ohio.
The authorities in Cuyahoga County issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for Mr. Dagley, at the request of his probation officer, that accused him of leaving the state without permission, according to court records.
The Gulfport police said Mr. Dagley had left the area by Tuesday and was traveling in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His location was unknown as of Wednesday evening, the police said.
It was unclear why Mr. Dagley had been in Gulfport — about 1,000 miles from his home — a day after a major hurricane hit the area. Phone calls placed to a number listed as belonging to Mr. Dagley were not returned on Tuesday night.
A live report from NBC News shows that he whipped his pickup truck off the road and into the backdrop of Shaquille Brewster’s shot as the reporter described the effects of Hurricane Ida, which had made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Sunday.
Mr. Dagley can be seen stepping out of his truck and running toward Mr. Brewster, who pauses and says, “I think we even have a random person going around.”
“You’re reporting this accurately, right?” Mr. Dagley says.
Mr. Brewster shifts so that the water is his backdrop and continues to speak to the camera. Mr. Dagley can be heard yelling in the background, though it is unclear what he is saying, and he is not visible in the shot.
A few seconds later, the scene appears to escalate.
“I’m going to toss it back to you,” Mr. Brewster tells Craig Melvin, an anchor for NBC. “We have a person who needs a little help right now.”
Mr. Dagley is seen moving toward Mr. Brewster as he screams in his face, “Report accurately!” and bumps into him before NBC cuts away. Mr. Melvin then tells viewers that the network will check in with Mr. Brewster later and that “there’s a lot of crazy out there.”
Later in the broadcast, Mr. Melvin says Mr. Brewster is OK.
Mr. Brewster, who did not respond to emails and requests for comment on social media on Tuesday night, said in an Instagram post that he was “overwhelmed by the love and support” after “the wildest moment I’ve had on air.”
“Our team joked about it afterwards, but it was without a doubt as scary for us as it was for you all watching,” he said. “While that one report was interrupted, we were right back up in the next hour and will continue reporting as we are here to do.”
Cleveland.com reported in 2017 that Mr. Dagley had been arrested on suspicion of breaking into an electroplating shop that he once owned and drilling holes into tanks holding dangerous chemicals. He pleaded guilty to vandalism, inducing panic and attempted assault, according to court records from Cuyahoga County.
After the confrontation in Gulfport, Mr. Melvin said on Twitter, “This is beyond unacceptable and disgusting.”
Michael Levenson contributed reporting.
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