9/11 conspiracy theorists dog TV reporters
Local 9/11 conspiracy theorists are targeting TV news reporters, already leading to at least one confrontation with a FOX 25 reporter who grabbed a poster in an incident caught on camera and posted on YouTube.
We will be protesting as the presidential election gets heated, said Mark OConnor of the group Boston 9/11 Truth. No newscaster is safe if theyre live on the street.
FOX 25 political editor Joe Battenfeld has had run-ins with members of the so-called 9/11 truth groups - who claim the terror attacks were a government setup - in Boston and New Hampshire. During Hillary Clintons Boston visit last month, Battenfeld and OConnor clashed outside Symphony Hall. As Battenfeld faced the camera, OConnor stood behind him, prompting Battenfeld to grab his Expose the 9/11 coverup poster and demand, Can you not stand behind me?
OConnor, 30, a Dorchester man who works for a structural engineer company, caught the exchange on video, and posted the clip he dubbed FOX 25s Political Editor Joe Battenfeld Gone Wild on YouTube. OConnor taunts Battenfeld, repeatedly asking him his name and telling him, Youre going to be a star on YouTube.
Battenfeld said he tries to ignore hecklers. Thats the chance you take when you do a live shot now. People have a right to stand on a sidewalk holding a sign, no matter how offensive their views may be to some, so theres really nothing you can do about it, he said.
A distaste of his own medicine ... | It was OConnors first encounter with Battenfeld but may not be his last. If he runs into Battenfeld, OConnor says, he wont threaten him but will stand behind him when hes on the air.
At a John Edwards rally in New Hampshire in August, Justin Martell, 20, founder of Student Scholars for 9/11 Truth, approached Battenfeld after angry Edwards supporters challenged his low crowd estimate. With a camera in tow, Martell badgered him with questions, but Battenfeld wasnt doing interviews. Im the reporter, Battenfeld said.
"And you're a peasant!" he added. | Im not going to make it my prerogative to go after Joe Battenfeld, said Martell, whose YouTube video of the Edwards event has fetched nearly 6,000 hits. But if I see him at an event, I will approach him and get him again.
During Barack Obamas Boston Common rally, OConnor trotted his poster behind NECN reporter Alison King. Former President Bill Clinton told a 9/11 heckler to shut up at a speech last month.
Posted by: Delphi 2007-11-07 |