DAYTON, Ohio — Federal authorities in Ohio arrested a man Thursday accused of assaulting a reporter during a live appearance on MSNBC earlier this week, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed to WOIO-TV that Benjamin Eugene Dagley, 54, was arrested after being tracked to the Dayton area. Police in Gulfport, Mississippi, had identified him as the man suspected of confronting NBC News reporter Shaquille Brewster during a live report on MSNBC on Monday.
Gulfport police said the Wooster, Ohio, man was wanted on two counts of simple assault, one count of disturbance of the peace and one count of violation of an emergency curfew. Officials with the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office have also issued a warrant for Dagley’s arrest on a parole violation, WOIO reported.
We would like to thank the public for coming forward and helping identify Dagley. pic.twitter.com/SFPJAekshn
— Gulfport Police Dept (@GulfportPolice) August 31, 2021
>> Related: Ohio man accused of assaulting reporter during live coverage of Ida in Mississippi
Video showed Brewster reporting live Monday for MSNBC as a white truck pulled into the sand behind him. A man, identified as Dagley, can be seen getting out of the truck and jogging toward Brewster before beginning to yell about reporting the storm accurately.
In the video, Brewster shifts positions and continues his live report before the man’s shouts get louder, prompting him to toss it back to the studio. Before Brewster’s live shot ended, Dagley could be seen physically confronting him.
Man confronts NBC News correspondent Shaquille Brewster on live TV during Hurricane Ida coverage. https://t.co/7Abw7BvQ2T pic.twitter.com/wZ2pQ7ZEhr
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 31, 2021
U.S. Marshals told WOIO that they arrested Dagley as he walked out of a store at a shopping plaza on Greene Boulevard. Officials said he was driving the same pickup truck seen in video footage of his alleged confrontation with Brewster.
Records show authorities booked Dagley into Montgomery County Jail in Ohio just after 1 p.m.
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