Today News Africa chief White House correspondent Simon Ateba said Tuesday he is unsure whether the White House will assassinate him.
Ateba has repeatedly clashed with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over not getting called on in the briefing room. He told WMAL host and Daily Caller editorial director Vince Coglianese during an interview he is afraid of being assassinated or having his phone bugged by the White House.
“I don’t know if I’m safe, I don’t know if they’ll kill me, I don’t know what they will do next,” Ateba said.
“They’re trying to keep me out of the briefing room. I don’t know how far they will go to silence me. Maybe they’ll hack my phone, maybe they’ll hack my laptop. Maybe they’ve done things I’m not really aware of. But for them to do that, or to even appear to do that, to try to edit me and cancel me and silence me, it’s maybe the beginning of something really ugly, and I just want people to keep praying for me. Keep praying for me. I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow.”
Ateba interrupted Jean-Pierre at Monday’s White House press briefing, which led the press secretary to threaten to abruptly end the event. The White House then appeared to edit out the exchanges with Ateba from the recorded videos. (RELATED: White House Reporter Simon Ateba Says Jean-Pierre Should Be ‘Ashamed’ For ‘Discriminating’ Against Reporters)
After Ateba derailed former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s final press briefing, the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) threatened to suspend or expel the Today News Africa reporter over his behavior.
Jean-Pierre angrily confronted Ateba after he defended Daily Caller White House correspondent Diana Glebova attempting to ask former White House senior medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci about the origins of COVID-19.
He has since threatened to sue Jean-Pierre over alleged discrimination in the briefing room.