A Maine man accused of steering his vehicle toward a conservative reporter outside a Bangor medical clinic is now in custody. The alarming encounter was captured on camera and left the reporter scrambling out of the vehicle’s path.
Ryan Hayward, 38, of Bangor, was arrested [1] Friday following a police investigation into the incident involving The Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol. Hayward faces four charges, including criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.
Local station WABI independently confirmed the charges. Bangor Police responded shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday after receiving a complaint about an erratic vehicle on Odlin Road.
The caller reported that a man had allegedly attempted to run someone over outside a medical clinic. The confrontation happened near the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center, where Sokol had been filming from public property.
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Video shows a man approaching Sokol in an SUV. The man accused the reporter of “invading people’s privacy,” and then drove away from the area.
The encounter did not end there. Moments later, the same vehicle accelerated off the roadway and crossed onto the grass where Sokol was standing with his camera equipment.
Sokol managed to jump clear and was not injured. Video shows the Jeep striking his camera equipment as the vehicle moved through the area where he had been standing.
While recording the aftermath, Sokol read the vehicle’s license plate into the camera. He identified it as Maine registration 841-LZD, giving investigators another detail captured during the chaotic confrontation.
The Maine Wire reported that the entire interaction was recorded. The available material reportedly included Sokol’s footage as well as security video obtained from a nearby business.
Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol [2].
We have the entire chilling interaction on camera.
We will take all necessary actions to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/Iwlpf3BWIx [3]
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 1, 2026 [4]
Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, later identified the driver as Hayward. Robinson also said Hayward called him and apparently believed he had reached the police rather than a reporter.
During the roughly 10-minute conversation, Hayward denied trying to kill anyone. According to reporting by The Post Millennial, he then admitted that the reporter “fired me up” and “disrespected me.”
Hayward said he recognized Sokol from the reporter’s previous work and objected to “the way he talks, like, bad about addicts and stuff.” He also claimed that he was a patient at the clinic and was going there to receive methadone.
The call ended after Hayward realized that Robinson was a reporter and not a police officer. Robinson said the interview was turned over to investigators as they examined what happened outside the clinic.
Robinson later wrote on X that Hayward “admitted that he was extremely familiar with Joe, watched all of his content, and targeted him because of his politics.” The Maine Wire also reported that Hayward discussed the incident in a separate phone interview.
In that separate interview, Hayward again denied attempted murder. According to The Maine Wire, however, he admitted that his actions were motivated by disagreements with Sokol’s reporting.
Sokol described the frightening episode bluntly in a Facebook post after escaping injury. “I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape.”
After the near miss, Sokol confronted staff members at the clinic and told them that a patient had just tried to run him over. According to video published by the outlet, a woman repeatedly ordered him to leave the property instead of calling police.
Police later took Hayward into custody after investigating the erratic vehicle complaint and the recorded confrontation. The arrest puts four charges behind an incident that was preserved through the reporter’s camera, nearby security footage, and Hayward’s subsequent conversations with reporters.