Two Valley News Live journalists attacked in Fargo by man with screwdriver

Two journalists with TV news station Valley News Live, an NBC affiliate based in Fargo, North Dakota, were attacked by a man wielding a screwdriver, who damaged their camera while they were reporting in the city on May 3, 2021.

Valley News Live photojournalist Michael Downs and reporter Nachai Taylor were near downtown Fargo, preparing for a 9 p.m. live report about a building the city commission had decided to demolish, Taylor said in a report that aired on the station following the attack.

In that report, Taylor said she was walking toward Downs when an unidentified man drove a pickup truck onto the curb. The man approached them, swinging a screwdriver, “which was kind of a scary situation,” she said.

Video published by Valley News Live shows a man approaching the camera, gesturing with a screwdriver, then jabbing the tool directly at the camera. Downs’ assault and the equipment damage is documented here.

Taylor said the man was shouting at the journalists to get off his property, though the journalists were on the sidewalk, she reported.

Taylor said after she told the man that she was going to call police, he got in his truck and left. She said the journalists gave statements to police about the incident, including the license plate number of the vehicle the man was driving.

Neither Taylor nor Downs responded to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

Valley News Live news director Renee Nygren told the Tracker the camera was not operable after the attack. She said it was being repaired, and believed that the damage would be fixable, but was not certain.

Nygren said she does not believe either journalist was physically touched during the attack, but she described the incident as frightening. “It’s concerning and really unfortunate that they had to go through that,” she said.

On May 18 Valley News Live reported that Gary Reinhart, the owner of the building slated for demolition, was charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. The station reported that a fire had destroyed the property, after which the city ordered the building demolished by June 30.

The Fargo city attorney’s office told the Tracker it would not comment on charges against Reinhart because the case against him is still open. Reinhart entered a not guilty plea to both charges at his arraignment on June 8, according to North Dakota’s court tracking system.

Reinhart’s attorney declined to comment.