By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-01 19:50:12 | Updated at 2026-10-02 00:26:53
6 hours ago
A driver was caught on video nearly mowing down an investigative journalist outside a Maine methadone clinic Thursday.
The driver confronted Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol while he was reporting near the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center, claiming Sokol was invading people’s privacy. The man then drove away only to return seconds later, nearly running over Sokol and his cameraman in an incident The Maine Wire characterizes as “attempted vehicular homicide.”
WATCH:
Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol.
We have the entire chilling interaction on camera.
We will take all necessary actions to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/Iwlpf3BWIx
“The bedlamite identified Sokol as a journalist and expressed a clear intent to stop him from conducting routine journalism from public property,” Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson said in a statement. “Sokol’s quick-thinking and training immediately allowed him to preserve the license plate,” Robinson added. “He is unharmed and safe.”
Robinson also said Bangor police are investigating the incident and that the driver may have been intoxicated.
“We will cooperate fully as they investigate the driver of the Blue Jeep Compass Maine License Plate 841-LZD, as well as any nearby accessories to attempted murder who may have provided this individual with intoxicating substances before he immediately attempted vehicular homicide,” Robinson said.
Robinson posted a separate statement on X in which he praised Sokol’s “cheetah” reflexes, thanked the Bangor Police Department, and said that his outlet will continue to investigate the clinic.
— Steve Robinson (@SteveRob) October 1, 2026“Joe was there to ask questions about a methadone clinic that, according to The Maine Wire’s reporting, has received roughly $25 million in taxpayer funding via Medicaid. This is essentially a taxpayer funded drug dealing operation,” Robinson said. (RELATED: Whistleblower Claims Somalians Committed Mass Medicaid Fraud In Maine)
“We will cooperate fully with [Bangor PD’s] investigation, including providing the vehicle information, the identity of the driver, his social media history, the VIN number of his vehicle, his romantic history, our account of what happened, and our opinion as to what should happen to the driver and the taxpayer-funded methadone slingers who helped him become intoxicated before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle,” he said.
The Maine Wire is an investigative outlet that has broken stories on government waste, oversight failures, and enforcement crackdowns in Maine’s Medicaid-funded home-care and residential group programs. The outlet has also reported on local crime waves, substance use and drug crises in cities like Bangor and Lewiston.
The Maine Wire noted that Thursday’s incident is the latest in a string of confrontations with its reporters throughout 2026. Jon Fetherston was confronted while reporting on a Lewiston City Council meeting in July, and was struck in the head with a skateboard as he covered an anti-ICE protest in Biddeford, according to the outlet. His car tire was slashed the following day after an anti-ICE protest in Scarborough, the outlet reported. He also received death threats while Biddeford protesters chanted his home address.
