In a horrifying incident out of Bangor, Maine, Maine Wire journalist Joe Sokol was attacked by a deranged individual in a vehicle, who attempted to run him over, seemingly for reporting on the fraudulent goings-on within a Bangor methadone clinic, which has received millions upon millions of dollars in taxpayer funding over the years through Medicaid.
For reference, the clinic involved in the incident is the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center (Discovery House BR) at 689 Odlin Road. It is a methadone medication-assisted treatment clinic for recovering drug addicts. The Maine Wire, a conservative or libertarian-leaning outlet, noted that Sokol, generally described as a conservative reporter, was reporting on the facility and its roughly $25 million in Medicaid funding since 2018.
The incident occurred on Thursday, October 1st, as Sokol reported from outside the clinic on what appears to be a major Medicaid fraud scandal, or at least the tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars on the clinic. As he did so, a driver in what appeared to be a crossover or hatchback-type car drove up to Sokol and confronted him.
In fact, the angry driver can be heard snapping, “You’re kinda invading people’s privacy here, confidentiality, you realize that?” Sokol answered by noting to the angry driver that he was on public property, out in the open, with a camera, doing a journalistic report. Responding to that, the driver replied, “Yeah. Videoing across the road, you know what’s up, bud. C’mon.”
The video of the incident shows that, with Sokol trying to report on the scandal as the irate driver yells at him and gestures angrily, and then it shows Sokol’s attacker driving off the road and onto the grass, sending his vehicle flying crazily towards Sokol and his equipment. The deranged driver, who many online said was a leftist, did not manage to hit Sokol, fortunately, but did strike his equipment and knocked over a video camera tripod. Sokol, who evaded the vehicle, noted the license plate, suggesting that perhaps the attempted murderer will face justice.
The Maine Wire, posting about the incident on X, said, “Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol. We have the entire chilling interaction on camera. We will take all necessary actions to demand justice.”
Additionally, the Maine Wire wrote, “This comes after a man who previously assaulted Joe was required to issue an apology letter and attend a class on press freedom. We warned that this soft approach would lead to further violence against our reporters. Unfortunately, we were right”.
"*" indicates required fields
Watch the incident here:
Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol.
We have the entire chilling interaction on camera.
We will take all necessary actions to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/Iwlpf3BWIx
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 1, 2026
Nick Shirley, chiming in with a comment, wrote, “Investigative journalism has become one of the most dangerous jobs in America”. Another commenter said, “When Troy Jackson told his followers to “get rid of” people who support ICE, this is exactly what he meant.” Another X account, the conservative “Oilfield Rando,” wrote, “Sure Democrats are trying to kill us all for their cause, but did you hear that a Republican said something mildly racist?!”
Sokol, posting about the incident online after the fact, said, “I stood outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center and watched the staff greet every car…pointing and sneering at me. I was across the street! The people the greeted ere friendly on the way in, but on the way out those faces graduated to curses and a middle finger. More than one of them almost wrecked their vehicle while yelling and pulling out.”
He added, “Then someone acted even more crazy and tried to take me out. Minutes after the attempted murder I walked across the street at the cold hearted staff….I asked about the patient who had just tried to kill me ….they couldnt care. Their remedy was simple: I was the problem and I had get off the property. Trespassed.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video