Lawyer, reporter get into confrontation outside of court
Photographer: WXYZ
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 02/15/2013
DETROIT, Mich (WXYZ) - Fox 2 Detroit reporter M.L. Elrick and defense lawyer Mike Rataj got into a confrontation outside of federal court downtown when Elrick asked Rataj a question that Rataj says he found offensive.
It happened after closing arguments-- when another defense lawyer talked to jurors about statements made by John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Elrick asked Rataj if he was saying the government was racist.
Rataj says the question was "way out there" and "made no sense" and that Elrick was a moron for asking. During the back and forth between the two outside, Rataj shoved Elrick and called him ignorant. It continued with other reporters watching for about three or four minutes.
Rataj says Elrick challenged his manhood and as a former marine he couldn't let that happen.
He says he regrets it happened and made news, when in fact the end of the trial is what should be making news.
We reached out to Fox 2 and were told there would be no comment on the incident at this time. We reached out to M.L. Elrick and he declined an interview, but said "watch the video".
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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