US reporter Jon Fetherston was assaulted with a skateboard and had his tyres slashed while covering an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest in Maine. The incident was broadcast live on air as protesters surrounded and attacked him.
Attack during anti-ICE protest in Biddeford
On Monday, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Biddeford, Maine, hours after immigration agents fatally shot a 26-year-old man from Colombia who was authorised to work in the United States and had been issued a social security number. Fetherston, a reporter for a local news outlet, was covering the demonstration when he was confronted by a group of agitated protesters.
Footage shows Fetherston being bundled by protesters, with at least four men following him and chanting slogans. One protester struck him with a skateboard. Fetherston reported the assault to his colleague in the studio, stating: "They don't want me to be able to report, you know, what was happening. I told them it was a huge missed opportunity for themselves because you would have listened to them but this is what they want."
Doxxing and tyre slashing
Fetherston later revealed that his tyres were slashed after an anti-ICE rally in Scarborough, Maine. He said: "They are definitely targeting me now, they are doxxing me, they are slashing my tyres. I got assaulted yesterday with a skateboard. There is just so much here, what is the upside for these guys to be doing this type of behaviour. What we are trying to do is to report on the story."
Broadcaster Laura Ingraham commented on the incident, saying: "It turns out they [the protesters] are just as lawless as the illegals who were deciding they can stay forever, they don't owe the United States any respect for deportation orders, final orders, temporary orders to work. Nobody cares about the rule of law."
Separate protest attack in Maine
In another protest in Maine, a man is facing charges after a viral video captured him allegedly assaulting local journalist Joe Sokol. Sokol and his cameraman were hit by a man holding a sign that reads "Healthcare 4 all". In the clip, the reporter attempts to interview the man, who appears to back into Sokol before allegedly elbowing him. The incident is under investigation.
