Metro

TV reporter menaced by angry lockdown protesters on Long Island

An angry group of lockdown protesters verbally abused and “practically chased” a Long Island reporter — with one man remarking, “I got hydroxychloroquine, I’m fine.”

News 12 Long Island reporter Kevin Vesey captured the crowd, which included President Trump supporters shouting “Fake news!” and “Enemy of the people!,” in Commack on Thursday while reporting on the protest and posted the footage to Twitter.

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

In the videos, Vesey repeatedly asks protesters to stay at least six feet away — but is met with a barrage of insults.

“I think you need to back away from me, man,” the reporter can be heard saying in one of the clips.

“No, I got hydroxychloroquine, I’m fine,” the unnamed protester says as he continues to walk toward the reporter and gives him the finger.

The anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has been touted by Trump as a coronavirus treatment. The FDA warned late last month against the use of the drug outside a hospital.

“You can see there’s clearly a lot of anger here today,” Vesey says as he backs away from a woman shouting at him with a bullhorn in one of the clips.

In another clip, the crowd chants, “Fake news is not essential” as Vesey walks through the protest.

One man gives the reporter the finger and says, “F–k you, you guys are f–king fake news” — while a woman calls the reporter “disgusting” and says “You’re the virus” as she walks away, the video shows.

The protest was organized by the Setauket Patriots, a pro-Trump group from Long Island.

The group posted an article about the protest and commented, “Journalism 101: Don’t let yourself become part of the story…..”

According to News 12, Suffolk County police talked to protesters about social distancing but issued no summonses.

An anti-lockdown protester can be seen shouting at a TV reporter in Long Island.
Twitter/Kevin Vesey