Bill O’Reilly got a taste of his own medicine on Wednesday when a man with a camera chased him down and peppered him with questions outside a D.C. hotel where Newt Gingrich was holding a fundraiser. His response? Apparently, to hit said man with an umbrella.
Branden Lane of Milwaukee, who is part of a group called Wisconsin Jobs Now and was in D.C. as part of the Take Back The Capitol movement, told TPM he was standing outside the Willard when someone pointed out O’Reilly walking out of the hotel. He followed him, camera in hand, asking him if he was Gingrich’s fundraiser.
“Leave me alone right now,” O’Reilly tells the man.
“Mr. O’Reilly, were you at Gingrich’s fundraiser?” Lane asked.
The video then shows O’Reilly’s open umbrella hitting the camera. “Sorry about that,” O’Reilly says as the wind flipped his umbrella inside out.
O’Reilly, we’re told, was actually on his way to the White House for a holiday party and he fact that he was staying at the same hotel where Gingrich’s fundraiser was taking place was likely a coincidence.
When he got to the White House gate, O’Reilly appears to have asked an officer to take Lane into custody.
I interviewed Lane after he shot the footage last night:
A Fox News spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Late update: O’Reilly will address the video on his program tonight, according to Mediaite.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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