‘You’re invading people’s privacy’: Local journalist does on-scene report. Then a Maine driver tries to allegedly run him over

A confrontation between a Maine reporter and a driver took an alarming turn when the man allegedly drove his SUV toward the journalist. This was moments after accusing him of “invading people's privacy.” 

Joe Sokol, a reporter for The Maine Wire, was reporting outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center in Bangor, Maine. Then a man driving a Jeep Compass pulled up behind him.

Video of the encounter posted to TikTok shows the two exchanging words before the driver leaves. But the interaction wasn't over.

The camera captures something shocking

Moments later, an engine can be heard revving as Sokol dodges out of the way. The camera jolts sideways, and someone immediately begins reading the Jeep's license plate out loud.

Another angle, apparently captured by a nearby surveillance camera, shows what appears to be the same Jeep accelerating toward the area Sokol was standing.

The Maine Wire has characterized what happened as an attempt to deliberately strike its reporter. Bangor police are investigating the incident, according to the outlet. The TikTok has amassed over 2 million views.

‘You're invading people's privacy' 

Before the second encounter, the driver appears to take issue with Sokol filming outside the treatment facility. “You're kind of invading people's privacy,” the man tells him during their exchange. “By being in public with a camera, doing a report?” Sokol asks the man. He responds, “Yeah, videoing across the road.”

Sokol asks, “What can I do for you?” before the man appears to shake his head and drive off. 

The reporter turns back to the camera and speculates, “And we have another person…essentially probably intoxicated. There is no way to tell.”

Afterward, another interaction is captured between Sokol and a woman outside the facility. “Your patient just tried to run me over,” he says. She then tells him to get off the property several times. 

The Maine Wire said Sokol was reporting from public property near Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center, an outpatient facility that provides medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

The publication called it an attempted killing on social media. They wrote in the caption alongside the TikTok, “Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter Joe Sokol. We have the entire chilling interaction on camera. We will take all necessary action to demand justice.”

Will they press charges?

In an email to Subplot, Sokol said, “I wasn't injured. I was investigating a story about the methadone clinic. Nothing has been published yet.”

“The Maine Wire wants attempted murder charges to be brought forward,” he wrote of the incident.

He added that he has been “assaulted multiple times.” He says “one of those incidents resulted in a charge, which the state dropped last week.” 

Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson also accused the driver of intentionally trying to hit the reporter.

These remain allegations from Sokol's employer. The publicly available evidence does not establish the driver's intent, and The Maine Wire's report does not cite any criminal charge accusing the driver of attempted murder. The footage also does not establish whether the driver was intoxicated or a patient of the center. 

What the video does appear to show is Sokol moving rapidly out of the path of an approaching Jeep following a tense verbal exchange with its driver, and a second camera angle capturing the vehicle approaching the area at speed.

@the.maine.wire/

Can reporters film outside a treatment center?

Generally, reporters may record people and events that are plainly visible or audible from a public place, though particular circumstances can create exceptions. 

Maine's privacy law prohibits surveillance involving a “private place,” where a person “may reasonably expect to be safe,” including changing rooms and bathrooms. 

The treatment layer adds a level of sensitivity. Federal HIPAA rules largely restrict what healthcare providers can disclose to the media, not reporters independently gathering information from a public property. So while a patient may object to being filmed leaving a treatment facility, it doesn't automatically make the act illegal.

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