The white man who angrily confronted MSNBC correspondent Shaquille Brewster, a Black man, during live coverage of Hurricane Ida in Mississippi on Monday is wanted for arrest.
On Tuesday, the Gulfport Police Department in Mississippi charged Benjamin Eugene Dagley, from Ohio, with two counts of simple assault, one count of disturbance of the peace and one count of violation of emergency curfew.
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
Gulfport police said in a press release that the suspect was identified with the assistance of the public.
Following a review of Dagley’s criminal history, Gulfport police contacted the Cuyahoga County Adult Probation Department in Ohio regarding a potential violation of probation.
Dagley is currently on probation for a previous charge in Cuyahoga County, which includes restrictions on travel.
According to Gulfport police, Dagley has left the area and is no longer on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Dagley is believed to be traveling in the same white truck he pulled up in before accosting Brewster.
The arrest warrant for Dagley was issued a day after he parked his white truck as Brewster delivered live coverage on Hurricane Ida. Dagley appeared to charge towards the MSNBC correspondent while yelling inaudible remarks.
Even after Brewster directed the camera crew towards the Gulf of Mexico after quickly noticing that there is a “random person going around,” Dagley was filmed aggressively getting in Brewster’s face.
Brewster’s live shot abruptly ended after he appeared to raise his own arm to defend himself against Dagley and began to lose his grip on his microphone. Dagley continued getting in Brewster’s face.
A note here. Cameras everywhere. Don’t do stupid stuff.
If I parse that correctly, that’s four counts. Also mentioned in the Gulfport PD press release, there may be an immediate Cuyahoga County probation violation, restriction on travel. He’s really screwed himself here, likely a history of poor impulse control. It also mentioned he’s left the area, presumably to return to Ohio:
I saw last night that the Gulfport PD had put out a tweet asking for info about this guy. I assumed he was from Mississippi, maybe even Gulfport, and wondered why he hadn’t been identified yet.
He was from Ohio?. Too much stupid in the water in Ohio. It’s sad, actually.
It was the horse de-wormer talking.
This guy’s a real genius.
I’m not supposed to be here, but here I am on national teevee.