Ryan Hayward: Who is the suspect accused of attacking Maine reporter Joe Sokol?
Bangor police investigate alleged vehicle attack on reporter
Bharatmorningnews.com – A Maine reporter escaped injury after a vehicle allegedly drove toward him while he was working outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center on Thursday morning.
Joe Sokol, who reports for The Maine Wire, was standing near the treatment facility when the confrontation unfolded. Footage released after the incident appears to show a vehicle turn around, leave the road and travel across a grassy area in Sokol’s direction. The outlet said the driver appeared to be attempting to hit him.
Sokol stepped away from the vehicle’s route and was unharmed. He was able to record the license plate before the vehicle left. The vehicle was identified as a blue Jeep Compass carrying Maine registration 841-LZD, and those details were provided to police.
Driver identified as Ryan Hayward
Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, later named Ryan Hayward of Machias, Maine, as the person he said was driving the Jeep. Robinson said Hayward owned the vehicle and contacted him after the incident.
“Ryan Hayward is the owner of the vehicle as well as the phone number that called me and admitted to driving the vehicle at Joe. He also admitted that he was extremely familiar with Joe, watched all of his content, and targeted him because of his politics,” Robinson wrote on X.
Robinson also said Hayward participated in a phone conversation lasting about 10 minutes, which was then turned over to the Department of Justice.
Bangor police arrived at the scene and opened an investigation. By Thursday afternoon, police had not publicly announced an arrest or filed criminal charges in connection with the incident.
Sokol says he feared for his life
Afterward, Sokol described the encounter in a Facebook post, saying he believed the driver had deliberately tried to strike him.
“I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape,” he said. “This is what unchecked violence looks like.”
He said he had been outside the treatment center observing activity when he noticed what he described as hostile reactions from some people arriving and leaving the property. Sokol wrote that staff members greeted vehicles entering the location while he stood across the street, and he said some departing drivers yelled, made gestures or appeared distracted while pulling away.
“I stood outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center and watched the staff greet every car…pointing and sneering at me. I was across the street! The people the greeted ere friendly on the way in, but on the way out those faces graduated to curses and a middle finger. More than one of them almost wrecked their vehicle while yelling and pulling out.”
Sokol said the alleged vehicle attack occurred soon afterward. He claimed he went to speak with staff at the facility after the incident and asked about the person he believed had tried to harm him.
“Then someone acted even more crazy and tried to take me out. Minutes after the attempted murder I walked across the street at the cold hearted staff….I asked about the patient who had just tried to kill me ….they couldn’t care. Their remedy was simple: I was the problem and I had get off the property. Trespassed.”
Questions raised about treatment-center response
The Maine Wire has also called attention to the actions of employees at the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center during and after the confrontation. The outlet said it is seeking help from members of the public to identify workers whom it alleges harassed Sokol and did not contact police following the reported incident.
“We have identified the driver who attempted to murder a Maine Wire reporter this morning, but we’d like the public’s help in identifying the methadone clinic employees who — rather than call the cops — harassed our reporter and appear to be complicit in covering up a crime. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the outlet wrote on Facebook.
The claims involving facility employees have not been independently resolved in the information made public by Thursday afternoon. Police are investigating the reported vehicle incident, while no public arrest announcement or charge had been issued at that point.
The case has drawn attention because the alleged encounter happened while a journalist was carrying out reporting in a public-facing setting. Video evidence, the recorded license plate and the accounts shared publicly may all be relevant as investigators determine what happened and whether any criminal offense occurred.
For now, the central known facts are that Sokol was not injured, a blue Jeep Compass was identified in connection with the incident, and Bangor police are examining the events surrounding the alleged attempt to hit the reporter.
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