Patti Epler, reporting for Alaska Dispatch, wrote:
Witness: Reporter was rude but not a threat
A Valley woman who witnessed the incident involving Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller and the editor of Alaska Dispatch on Sunday says the journalist, Tony Hopfinger, did not threaten Miller and that the whole thing should never have escalated into a police matter.
Lolly Symbol says she drove in from Big Lake with her two young sons because she was a staunch Miller supporter and wanted to ask him a question about his stance on gun control.
She said she found the opportunity to speak with Miller when he stuck around after his town hall at Central Middle School and spoke with a few people outside the main room. She says she stood right next to the candidate as the scene that has captured national public attention played out.
Symbol said Miller became angry with an elderly woman who asked him about his military background. "He ended up getting really huffy with her," Symbol said.
She said she got about two words into her question when Hopfinger interrupted her, stuck a small camera in Miller's face and asked him about his work with the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
"I would say Tony was aggressive, and I would say he was rude because he interrupted me, but he didn't do anything wrong and he wasn't posing a threat to Miller," Symbol said.
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