Local reporter ‘berated’ by anti-lockdown protesters in Long Island

A local reporter says he was “insulted,” “berated” and “practically chased” during a protest on Long Island by those rallying against stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

News 12 Long Island reporter Kevin Vesey said in his report about the protest Thursday in the town of Commack that a number of demonstrators were “repeatedly invading my personal space.”

“You can see there’s clearly a lot of anger here today,” Vesey says in a video posted on social media while being confronted by protesters.

TENSE MOMENTS: While covering a reopening rally on Long Island, our @KevinVesey was confronted by several angry protestors.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/qchSIAyacb pic.twitter.com/Uzgtjvml6U

— News12 (@News12) May 14, 2020

“You are the enemy of the people!” one protester shouted at the reporter per video taken at the event.  

“You are the virus!” another said.

“Traitor!” someone else could be heard saying.

The level of anger directed at the media from these protestors was alarming. As always, I will tell a fair and unbiased story today. pic.twitter.com/5jCR0YY9VH

— Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 14, 2020

“I’ll probably never forget what happened today. I was insulted. I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic. All the while, I was there to tell THEIR story,” Vesey later wrote on Twitter. 

I’ll probably never forget what happened today.
I was insulted. I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic.
All the while, I was there to tell THEIR story. Here’s the finished product. pic.twitter.com/HV2Hrcs7gi

— Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 14, 2020

In his final report, Vesey vowed to continue to report in an “unbiased way” despite the treatment. 

“The level of anger directed at the media from these protesters was alarming. As always, I will tell a fair and unbiased story today,” he said.

New York, the hardest hit state during the pandemic, has been under stay-at-home order since March 21, though parts of the state are reopening starting Friday.

The state’s death toll in New York stands at 27,617, according to a New York Times tracker. 

The total easily represents the highest in the nation ahead of New Jersey, with the death toll there at 10,138. 

Protests continue to grow in a number of states across the country, including in Michigan and California.