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Journalist Accused Of ‘Looking Like A White Supremacist’ By Anti-Fascists

(Photo: Screenshot/Bill Melugin Facebook Video)

Ian Miles Cheong Contributor
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Anti-fascist protests kicked off across the nation this Sunday following the white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Va., which saw the death of one woman and two police officers. Reporting on scene in downtown Los Angeles, Fox 11 LA reporter Bill Melugin was accused by angry protesters of being a white supremacist because he had a dress shirt on.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets in solidarity with anti-fascists in Charlottesville and their opposition to Donald Trump. In the video posted late Sunday, Melugin stated on Facebook that the marchers, who did not have a permit with the city to assemble, were trying to block traffic.

As he walked through the crowd, a woman said he was dressed like a white supremacist because of how he looked. Melugin was wearing a white dress shirt and trousers.

When he clarified that he worked for the local news station, protesters demanded his press credentials to prove that he worked for Fox. Unable to provide proper identification, multiple marchers surrounded him and called him “unprofessional.”

Scenes from the tense situation were captured on video. Skip to the seven-minute-mark.

One marcher asked: “How are we supposed to know who you are?”

“We don’t know if you’re just a creepy-ass blogger dressed like all the people [at the white nationalist march],” said a female protester.

Melugin’s photographer provided his own press credentials, but the situation escalated when he repeated that he was only there to cover the event. Protesters accused him of working for Breitbart and began chanting “racists go home” as a police officer arrived to get between protesters and the reporter.

The Fox 11 reporter then left the scene.

The Daily Caller has reached out to Melugin for comment but he has not responded at the time of publication.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.