Ohio man shown attacking NBC’s Shaquille Brewster arrested

"This violent fugitive was attempting to flee from his charges in Gulfport," authorities said of Benjamin Eugene Dagley.

The man who was caught on camera confronting NBC News reporter Shaquille Brewster has been arrested in Dayton, Ohio. 

Benjamin Eugene Dagley, 54, charged toward Brewster on Monday while the correspondent was reporting on-air about Hurricane Ida’s arrival in Gulfport, Mississippi. 

In a moment Monday that shocked and startled MSNBC viewers, Benjamin Eugene Dagley (above) rushed into an on-screen, on-air live shot of NBC News’ Shaquille Brewster reporting on Hurricane Ida and attacked him. (Gulfport Police Department)

As previously reported, Dagley is seen in the shot’s background pulling up in a white pickup truck, then rushing towards the NBC News crew. He gets right up in Brewster’s face, and the anchor attempts to push him back by pressing his hand to the man’s chest.

Much of what he said to Brewster was unintelligible, but he could be heard demanding that he report the news “accurately.”

Brewster threw the live shot back to stunned MSNBC anchor Craig Melvin, saying, “Craig, I’m going to toss it back to you because we have a person who needs a little help right now.”

Melvin, at the desk, was noticeably shaken. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,” he said. “Ummmm, we’re going to check in with Shaq Brewster just to make sure all is well. There is a lot of crazy out there. There is a lot of crazy.”

Brewster was not injured in the incident and later tweeted, “Appreciate the concern guys. The team and I are all good!”

After being charged with two counts of assault, one count of disturbance of the peace and one count of violation of emergency curfew, Dagley was arrested at a shopping plaza back in his native Ohio. 

“This violent fugitive was attempting to flee from his charges in Gulfport,” said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott in a statement, “but the swift work of our task force members resulted in a timely arrest.” 

“Taskforce members received information that Dagley was still driving in his white truck bearing an Ohio license plate,” according to the statement. “Taskforce members located the truck in the parking lot and subsequently arrested him after watching him exit a store in the shopping plaza.”

According to an NBC News report, Dagley has a criminal history. He pleaded guilty to vandalism, inducing panic and attempted assault, stemming from a 2017 commercial break-in.

Dagley may also be charged with a probation violation because he was sentenced to five years’ probation — conditions of which included travel restrictions — and 30 days in jail to go along with a $5,000 fine and $10,000 restitution to Cleveland Plating in 2017. 

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