The FCC is disputing a reporter’s claim that he was “manhandled” by security personnel outside of an open hearing in May. John Donnelly, a reporter for CQ Roll Call, said after the incident on May 18 that security officers pinned him against a wall in the hallway when he tried to ask Commissioner Michael O’Rielly a question as he walked by. In letters to Sens. Tom Udall and Maggie Hassan dated June 2, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said his security personnel had a different story.
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly apologized to a reporter for CQ Roll Call after he was allegedly manhandled by a guard and forced to leave the premises of a public FCC meeting.
John M. Donnelly of CQ Roll Call says he was manhandled by security guards from the FCC, then forced out of the agency’s headquarters as he tried to ask a commissioner questions at a public meeting on Thursday.
