Ronald Staples, 78, Faces Assault Charge After Allegedly Shoving Maine Wire Reporter
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 9
Ronald Staples, 78, Faces Assault Charge After Allegedly Shoving Maine Wire Reporter
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 9
Summary
Bangor police charged 78-year-old Ronald Staples of Holden with one count of assault after a viral video showed him allegedly shoving Maine Wire journalist Joe Sokol at a protest in Bangor.
The undated footage posted Tuesday appears to show Staples first shoving Sokol and his cameraman as the reporter walked away from an interview, then later backing into and elbowing Sokol during another attempted interview.
Joe Sokol is heard on video calling the contact assault, while another protester follows Staples and repeatedly apologizes, saying, "we don't do that."
Authorities confirmed Staples' identity but said they have not released details on what led up to the encounter or what happened immediately afterward; requests for comment from Staples and the Maine Wire were not returned.