Fox News’ Steve Harrigan was accosted while reporting on the unrest in Ferguson late Monday night, with one protester taking offense at the reporter’s description of the struggle with police as “child’s play.”

“This is right now a media event, pure and simple,” Harrigan told Shepard Smith just after midnight on Tuesday morning. “This is people running towards tear gas, running away from it. The dignified protesters went home at dusk, this is just child’s play right now.”

That didn’t sit well with one protester within earshot, who rounded on Harrigan almost immediately. “Say that shit!” he yelled, getting into the reporter’s face. “No, say that shit!”

“I’m on TV right now,” Harrigan said.

“I don’t give a damn if y’all on TV,” the protester retorted. “I don’t care about that shit!”

A five-second delay removed a significant part of the man’s rant, but eventually the audio cut back in. ” — at us! [Unintelligible] shots, who heard shots!?” he continued. “Them shooting at us!”

“We’re out here,” Harrigan said.

“It don’t matter! We out here!” the protester pushed back.

“We’re out here with tear gas,” the reporter continued. “I’m not trying to argue with you.”

“OK, we go through this shit every day, though!” he replied. “You talk about this shit is just child’s play, who’s the child playing with toys?! Us or them?!”

The protester then stormed off, prompting Smith to pull the camera back to the studio for a few minutes while Harrigan attempted to calm the situation.

The reporter eventually returned to speak to another protester involved in the earlier altercation. “What are you prepared to do?” he asked him. “How can you fix this? What are you going to do?”

“What I’m going to do is stand here with my people, all night, every night,” he declared. “No pillow, no covers, with my twin and my brothers.”

[h/t Mediaite]

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