Ryan Hayward: Who is the suspect accused of attacking Maine reporter Joe Sokol?

Bangor Police Investigate After Reporter Says Vehicle Was Driven Toward Him

Indiadailyupdate.com – A Bangor reporter says he narrowly avoided being hit by a vehicle while working outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center on Thursday morning. The incident, which was captured on video, is now under investigation by Bangor police.

Joe Sokol, who reports for The Maine Wire, was standing near the treatment facility when a confrontation involving a driver unfolded. Footage shared by the outlet appears to show a vehicle turn around, leave the roadway and travel across a grassy area in Sokol’s direction.

Sokol stepped clear of the vehicle’s path and was not hurt. He was able to record the license plate before the vehicle left the area. The vehicle was described as a blue Jeep Compass displaying Maine registration 841-LZD, and that information was passed to police.

Driver Identified by Editor

Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, later named Ryan Hayward of Machias, Maine, as the person he says was driving the Jeep. Robinson said Hayward owned the vehicle and contacted him after the incident.

“Ryan Hayward is the owner of the vehicle as well as the phone number that called me and admitted to driving the vehicle at Joe. He also admitted that he was extremely familiar with Joe, watched all of his content, and targeted him because of his politics,” Robinson wrote on X.

Robinson also said Hayward participated in what he described as a 10-minute phone interview that was immediately provided to the Department of Justice.

As of Thursday afternoon, police had not publicly announced an arrest or filed criminal charges in connection with the incident. The investigation remains significant because the central question is whether the vehicle’s movement toward Sokol was deliberate or part of another sequence of events. Video, witness statements, vehicle information and any available communications could all be relevant to that determination.

Sokol Describes a Tense Morning at the Treatment Center

In a Facebook post, Sokol said he believed the driver had attempted to strike him. He characterized the event as an escalation following what he described as hostility from people arriving at and leaving the facility.

“I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape,” he said. “This is what unchecked violence looks like.”

Sokol said he had been positioned across the street from the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center and observed staff interacting with vehicles. He wrote that some people appeared friendly upon entering but became confrontational when leaving, describing shouting, gestures and drivers who were distracted while pulling away.

“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 said the confrontation involving the Jeep occurred shortly afterward. Sokol also wrote that he crossed the street after the alleged incident to ask staff about the driver and was told to leave the property.

“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 couldn’t care. Their remedy was simple: I was the problem and I had get off the property. Trespassed.”

Questions Raised Over Employee Response

The Maine Wire has publicly criticized the conduct of treatment-center employees, alleging that staff members harassed Sokol and did not contact law enforcement after the vehicle incident. The outlet asked the public for help identifying employees it believes were present.

“We have identified the driver who attempted to murder a Maine Wire reporter this morning, but we’d like the public’s help in identifying the methadone clinic employees who — rather than call the cops — harassed our reporter and appear to be complicit in covering up a crime. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the outlet wrote on Facebook.

Those assertions have not been matched by publicly announced charges against any treatment-center employees. The allegations and the terminology used in social-media posts reflect the views of Sokol and The Maine Wire, while police investigators are responsible for determining whether any crime occurred and whether evidence supports charges.

The episode also highlights the risks that can arise when reporting takes place in public settings where emotions are already heightened. Journalists may work from sidewalks, streets or other nearby public areas while covering issues that affect local residents, businesses and institutions. A dispute involving a reporter can quickly become a public-safety concern if it escalates into threats, property damage or dangerous driving.

For now, the known details center on a reporter who says a Jeep Compass was driven toward him, a license plate that was supplied to police, and an investigation that had not resulted in a publicly disclosed arrest by Thursday afternoon. Further information from Bangor police could clarify the circumstances of the confrontation and whether Ryan Hayward or anyone else will face criminal allegations.