Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol nearly struck by car outside Bangor treatment clinic
Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol says a driver tried to hit him while he was filming outside a Bangor methadone clinic on Thursday. He was unhurt and police are investigating; the account rests largely on the Maine Wire's own video and statements.
1 / 1
The story, neutrally told
Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol narrowly avoided being hit by a vehicle on Thursday 1 October while reporting from public property outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center, a methadone clinic on Odlin Road in Bangor, Maine. Hindustan TimesN “Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol narrowly avoided being struck by a vehicle Thursday morning while reporting from public property outside a methadone clinic in Bangor, Maine.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Fox NewsR “Video showed Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol nearly struck by a car outside an addiction treatment center Thursday morning as he was reporting.” Read at Fox News ↗ Video released by the Maine Wire appears to show a vehicle making a U-turn and moving from the road onto the grass near Sokol; the outlet described this as an attempt to strike him, and Sokol moved out of the way and was not injured. Hindustan TimesN “Video released by the outlet appears to show a vehicle making a U-turn before moving from the roadway onto the grass near Sokol.”“Sokol moved out of the vehicle’s path and was not injured.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ In the footage, a man criticised Sokol for filming, saying "You're invading people's privacy here"; Sokol replied that he was in public with a camera doing a report. The man then drove off, and Sokol, who had described him as "possibly intoxicated", backed away from what appeared to be the same vehicle and read out its licence plate. Fox NewsR “"You're invading people's privacy here. Confidentiality, you realize that?" the driver said.”“As he was speaking, Sokol suddenly backed away, apparently avoiding a near collision with what appeared to be the same man's vehicle.” Read at Fox News ↗
The Maine Wire identified the vehicle as a blue Jeep Compass with Maine registration 841-LZD and said the information was given to police. Bangor police responded and are investigating; as of Thursday afternoon no arrest or charges had been announced, and Sokol told Fox News he was not sure whether the driver had been apprehended. Hindustan TimesN “which The Maine Wire identified as a blue Jeep Compass with Maine registration 841-LZD. The information was provided to police.”“authorities had not publicly announced an arrest or criminal charges.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Fox NewsR “Though the suspect was identified, Sokol was not yet sure if he was apprehended.” Read at Fox News ↗ Further footage shows Sokol confronting the clinic's owner, saying "Your patient just tried to run me over"; according to Fox News, she accused him of trying to intimidate her and demanded he leave. Sokol wrote on Facebook that staff trespassed him. Fox NewsR “"Your patient just tried to run me over," Sokol accused in the footage.”“The female owner, however, accused Sokol of attempting to intimidate her and demanded he leave the property.” Read at Fox News ↗ Hindustan TimesN “Their remedy was simple: I was the problem and I had get off the property. Trespassed.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Sokol wrote on Facebook, "I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape", and described the driver's act as an attempted murder. Hindustan TimesN “"I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape," he said.”“Minutes after the attempted murder I walked across the street” Read at Hindustan Times ↗
Sokol told Fox News he has an active death-threat investigation awaiting the district attorney for over a month, has been assaulted several times (one case led to a charge the state dropped last week), and that his cameraman Adam Stade was nearly attacked about three weeks ago; he said violence against Maine Wire reporters is never addressed in Bangor. Fox NewsR “"I currently have an active death-threat investigation that has sat on the district attorney’s desk for more than a month," Sokol said.”“Violence and aggression toward Maine Wire reporters is never addressed in Bangor.” Read at Fox News ↗ The Maine Wire, described by Fox News as conservative-leaning, said it would cooperate with police. Its statement praised Sokol's reflexes and called the driver "seemingly intoxicated"; it said the clinic has received about $25 million in Medicaid funding, and Fox's copy of the statement also called the clinic a "taxpayer-funded drug dealing operation". Intoxication and these characterisations are the outlet's claims, not established by police. Hindustan TimesN “utterly outwitting the seemingly intoxicated driver.” Read at Hindustan Times ↗ Fox NewsR “has received roughly $25 million in taxpayer funding via Medicaid. This is essentially a taxpayer-funded drug dealing operation at the heart of Bangor, Maine.”“The conservative-leaning Maine Wire also released a statement” Read at Fox News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Hindustan Times presents a straightforward account of the incident, attributing most claims to the Maine Wire and Sokol, and leads with Sokol's 'I almost got murdered' quote.
- Emphasis
- Sokol's Facebook post, police investigation, lack of arrest or charges so far.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not include the driver's recorded remarks, the owner's response in the footage or Sokol's account of earlier threats and assaults.
- Charged language
- “I almost got murdered”“attempted murder”
- For example
-
“The outlet described the maneuver as an attempt to strike the reporter.” — Hindustan Times
“As of Thursday afternoon, authorities had not publicly announced an arrest or criminal charges.” — Hindustan Times
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Fox News frames it as a reporter threatened by an 'unruly critic' within a pattern of hostility towards Maine Wire journalists, and gives Sokol's wider claims prominent space.
- Emphasis
- Footage details, the clinic owner's reaction, Sokol's earlier threats and assaults, and Medicaid spending on the clinic.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives no response from the driver or the clinic beyond the owner's remarks in the footage, and does not report the Facebook claim that staff trespassed Sokol.
- Charged language
- “unruly critic”“taxpayer-funded drug dealing operation”“taxpayer-funded methadone slingers”
What every side reports
- Sokol was reporting outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center on Thursday morning.
- He was not injured.
- Bangor police were notified and are investigating.
- The Maine Wire released the video and a statement.
Where accounts differ
-
Whether the driver deliberately tried to hit Sokol
- Centre
- Hindustan Times reports the Maine Wire's description of an attempt to strike him and notes the video 'appears to show' a U-turn onto the grass.
- Right
- Fox News says Sokol 'appeared to narrowly avoid' being run over and carries his accusation that the patient 'tried to run me over'.
-
Whether the driver was intoxicated and linked to the clinic
- Centre
- Reports the Maine Wire's 'seemingly intoxicated' description as the outlet's statement.
- Right
- Carries the Maine Wire's claim that clinic staff helped the driver become intoxicated; the clinic owner is shown rejecting Sokol's approach, and no police finding is reported.
Joe Sokol person
Says the driver tried to hit him, calls it an attempted murder, and says violence against Maine Wire reporters goes unaddressed in Bangor.
“"I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape," he said.” — Hindustan Times
“Violence and aggression toward Maine Wire reporters is never addressed in Bangor.” — Fox News
The Maine Wire organisation
Confirms Sokol is unharmed, says it will cooperate with Bangor police and will keep investigating the clinic, and alleges the driver was intoxicated.
“The Maine Wire confirmed the incident and said Sokol was safe and unharmed.” — Hindustan Times
“We will continue to investigate this organization, its enablers” — Fox News
Bangor, Maine place
Bangor police responded to the scene and are investigating; no arrest or charges had been announced by Thursday afternoon.
“Bangor police responded to the scene and are investigating.” — Hindustan Times
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre2 articles
-
Neutral Attributes the attempt-to-strike claim to the Maine Wire and Sokol while reporting the police investigation.
Right1 article
-
Video shows Maine Wire reporter nearly being run over by car after confrontation
Sympathetic Portrays Sokol as a reporter facing repeated violence, with the clinic and Medicaid funding criticised through the Maine Wire's statement.
- 1 Oct 19:47 First Hindustan TimesN Maine reporter Joe Sokol speaks out after viral video shows driver trying to run him over: 'I almost got murdered'
- 1 Oct 21:18 +1h 31m Fox NewsR Video shows Maine Wire reporter nearly being run over by car after confrontation
- 1 Oct 21:46 +1h 59m Hindustan TimesN Ryan Hayward: Who is the suspect accused of attacking Maine reporter Joe Sokol?
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.