Fox’s Vittert, crew chased by demonstrators at DC protest
Fox News anchor Leland Vittert and his crew were followed by protesters while covering a demonstration outside the White House on Friday night.
The journalist called the incident the scariest situation he’s been in since getting chased out of Tahrir Square by a “mob” during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising in Egypt.
“Imagine what it’s like to be a black man, feeling like this every f—ing day,” a woman screamed at Vittert as he and his crew attempted to leave what appeared to be an escalating situation.
One of two of Vittert’s security staffers was punched in the face and knocked to the ground as the team hurriedly exited the park.
“This was the scariest situation I’ve been in since I got chased out of Tahrir Square by a mob, and this was equally scary,” said Vittert, whose reporting from hotspots includes Cairo, Libya, the West Bank, war in Ukraine and the 2015 Baltimore riots.
The journalist said when they found a police car approximately two blocks away, they pounded on the window frantically but the officer refused to get out of the car while appearing to radio for help.
“We were very clearly on our own, and in that situation, you just don’t know how things are going to play out,” Vittert said.
The protestors chased out a reporter they believe to be from Fox News pic.twitter.com/6tpj0IAryV
— Jane Recker (@janerecker) May 30, 2020
Protestors at the White House realize Leland Vittert works for Fox News, chase him out of Lafayette Square shouting “FUCK FOX NEWS”: pic.twitter.com/KQc29PFEPe
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 30, 2020
Fox News cameraman Christian Galdabini, whose resume includes work in Iraq and Afghanistan, said riot police arrived in an effort to quell the situation.
“It was a wild one,” said Galdabini, who was hit with objects, doused with water and almost had his camera stolen “In the park, you could feel the mob mentality taking over. There were no cops anywhere. There was nobody there to keep things calm and it got out of hand.”
Vittert lauded his security team and news organizations including the Daily Caller for documenting what occurred.
“I give a lot of credit to them,” Vittert said early Saturday. “I’m also grateful that the Daily Caller and some of the other organizations were able to follow the mob and document it. I really appreciate that they had our backs.”
Floyd was killed on Monday after officer Derek Chauvin pinned him with his knee on his neck for several minutes, which was captured on video.
Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday afternoon.
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