CNN reporter Miguel Marquez got shushed by a crowd of demonstrators trying to have a vigil of silence for George Floyd.
Not far from the beginning of Tuesday’s “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper switched to Marquez, who was standing in front of a crowd of sitting demonstrators at the state capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota.
WATCH:
“We were here last night. There are about 200 or 300 protesters. I’ve got to tell you, we’re in five minutes of silence right now,” Marquez said before taking off his mask.
In the background, crowd members could be heard shouting “silence!” and “sssh!”
“I’m going to tell you how big this crowd is. It is absolutely massive …” he continued as the crowd got louder in their attempts to get him to stop talking.
As the clip ended, a crowd member put their hand in front of the camera.
A CNN spokesperson told Mediaite that Marquez apologized after his segment ended and told the protesters he wanted them “to know that the whole world saw this moment and it looked amazing.”
Andrew Kimmel posted a clip of Marquez being asked to “sit with us” while standing in front of the camera, presumably before the segment.
During a 5-minute moment of silence for George Floyd, this CNN reporter showed incredible disrespect by continuing to speak on the air. The crowd had to intervene & tell him to stop speaking. He later apologized to the crowd and said they “got it” & it “looked amazing”. pic.twitter.com/mXkcftg6Cg
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) June 2, 2020
“As our reporter said to the crowd gathered there, we apologize for inadvertently taking our live shot during the moment of silence,” the CNN spokesperson told Mediaite. (RELATED: ‘1619 Project’ Author Defends Looting As A ‘Symbolic Taking’)
While Tuesday’s daytime demonstration was peaceful, St. Paul and Minneapolis have been the epicenter of demonstrations and protests against the death of George Floyd while in police custody that have often turned into riots.