Hurricane Ida: Police issue arrest warrant for man who accosted MSNBC reporter on live TV
Police say that Benjamin Dagley has left Gulf Coast but traveling in a white truck seen on air
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Police have issued an arrest warrant for a man who confronted MSNBC journalist Shaquille Brewster live on air as he covered Hurricane Ida.
Benjamin Dagley has been charged by Mississippi’s Gulfport Police Department with two counts of simple assault, one count of disturbance of peace and one count of violation of emergency curfew.
Mr Dagley, who is from Wooster, Ohio, was caught on video charging towards and yelling at the reporter as he discussed the hurricane.
Brewster’s live shot was cut short as he raised his arm to defend himself against Mr Dagley, who could be heard shouting at Brewster to “report accurately.”
MSNBC host Craig Melvin appeared startled and told the audience, “Hey, hey, hey, hey. We’re going to check back in with Shaq Brewster just to make sure all is well. There’s a lot of crazy out there. A lot of crazy.”
Brewster later took Twitter to say: “Appreciate the concern guys. The team and I are all good!”
Melvin later wrote: “This is beyond unacceptable and disgusting. (Shaq Brewster) was trying to do his job on a beach in Gulfport, MS. Shaq is ok. This guy who nearly attacked him clearly is not.”
Authorities say that they do not believe Mr Dagley is still in the area, but he is believed to still be traveling in the white truck seen on TV.
Gulfort Police say that Mr Dagley was identified with the help of the public.
Officials say that following a review of his criminal history they contacted the Cuyahoga County Adult probation Department in Ohio to report a parole violation.
The police department said in a statement that Mr Dagley was on probation for a previous offence, with one of the conditions being a travel restriction.