1968 Democratic National Convention - Dan Rather Incident

Dan Rather Incident

While trying to interview a Georgia delegate who was being escorted out of the building, CBS News correspondent Dan Rather was grabbed by security guards and was roughed up. While Rather was reporting from the convention floor, CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite turned his attention towards the area where Rather was reporting from and Rather was grabbed by security guards after he walked towards a delegate who was being hauled out and asked him "what is your name sir?" Rather, who was wearing a microphone headset, was then heard on national television repeatedly saying "don't push me" and "take your hands off me unless you plan to arrest me" to the guards. The guards then roughed up Rather and one of them punched him in the stomach. After the guards let go of Rather, Rather then told Cronkite "Walter... we tried to talk to the man and we got violently pushed out of the way. This is the kind of thing that has been going on outside the hall, this is the first time we've had it happen inside the hall. We... I'm sorry to be out of breath, but somebody belted me in the stomach during that. What happened is a Georgia delegate, at least he had a Georgia delegate sign on, was being hauled out of the hall. We tried to talk to him to see why, who he was, what the situation was, and at that instant the security people, well as you can see, put me on the deck. I didn't do very well." Cronkite then replied by saying "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here, Dan."