‘F– Michelle Fields!’ — Interview With Reporter Harassed at Occupy DC Protest

Michelle Fields stands next to a policeman while
covering ‘Occupy DC’ protests, Nov. 4, 2011

Michelle Fields, a young video reporter for the Daily Caller, was assigned to cover Friday night’s Occupy DC protests outside the Americans for Prosperity “Defending the American Dream” conference at the Washington Convention Center. In an interview Saturday morning, Fields described how she was targeted for harassment:

Robert Stacy McCain: You won’t be going back?

Michelle Fields, Daily Caller: I won’t be going back to cover it. I actually don’t feel safe going back to those protests, because they singled me out, they singled out the Daily Caller. I just don’t think it’s safe for me to be back around those people.

They actually had a person covering me all night, for about three hours, with someone walking around with a camera, screaming things out to me like, “You’re worse than Fox,” and attacking me, attacking what I’m wearing. So I won’t be returning.

McCAIN: Attacking what you were wearing?

FIELDS: Exactly, yes. I think they were just trying to figure out ways to upset me — about the clothing I was wearing, where apparently I shop, really strange stuff.

McCAIN: Where you shop?

FIELDS: Exactly, yes.

McCAIN: You were wearing what? Abercrombie & Fitch or what?

FIELDS: They were screaming out that I was wearing [designer] Ann Taylor. So I’m not sure — I wasn’t wearing Ann Taylor.

McCAIN: Oh, my goodness.

FIELDS: They were screaming stuff out like that. They were screaming like, ‘F– Michelle Fields!’
And when I tried to conduct interviews, an individual would jump in front of the camera and stop the interview, or block it with a piece of paper or cardboard, so that we couldn’t tape anything or talk to anyone.

McCAIN: Oh, my goodness. So while they want all the friendly media they can get, in terms of –

FIELDS: Exactly, yes. And so people started chanting, ‘Right-wing extremists,’ while we were trying to interview people, and they talked to people who were part of Occupy DC and told them not to talk to us. So they chanted that, they chanted songs at me that I’m ugly, like ‘U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you’re ugly,’ to me individually, and that I’m a ‘horrible person.’ It was, literally, just attacking me and the Daily Caller, but specifically me.

McCAIN: Wow. Wow. And so they had somebody whose job was apparently to monitor you?

FIELDS: Exactly, yes. So for about three hours, I had someone following me around, harassing me, screaming things out to me. And I actually did not feel comfortable, because at one point there were a whole group of men surrounding me saying, ‘F—Michelle Fields.’  And I went to a police officer and I told him that I felt these people were harassing me. And the police officer said he’d take care of it, but it never ended. These people were harassing me for the entire evening.

McCAIN: Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. These are the enlightened, tolerant, liberal, progressives.

FIELDS: Supposedly.

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UPDATE (Smitty): Welcome, Instapundit readers!
UPDATE II (RSM): Linked by Don Surber, Darleen Click at Protein Wisdom, Dan Collins at The Conservatory, Fire Andrea Mitchell and The Lonely Conservative — thanks! — and welcome, Hot Air readers!
PREVIOUSLY: #OWS Protesters Attempt to Storm AFP Defending the American Dream Summit

http://theothermccain.com/2011/11/05/f-michelle-fields-interview-with-reporter-harassed-at-occupy-dc-protest/