Ryan Hayward, 38, was arrested after allegedly driving his vehicle toward The Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol (Credit: Penobscot County Jail/The Maine Wire)

The man who allegedly tried to mow down a conservative reporter with his vehicle, on camera, is now in custody.

Ryan Hayward, 38, of Bangor, was arrested Friday after police investigated the disturbing incident involving The Maine Wire reporter Joe Sokol outside the Bangor Comprehensive Treatment Center.

According to The Maine Wire, Hayward has been charged with:

• Reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon
• Criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon
• Driving to endanger
• Violating conditions of release

Local station WABI independently confirmed the charges, reporting that Bangor Police responded shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday to an erratic-vehicle complaint on Odlin Road. The caller reported that a man had allegedly attempted to run someone over outside a medical clinic.

And now comes the FAFO portion of the story.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported the shocking video of the confrontation. Sokol was filming from public property when a man in an SUV pulled up, accused him of “invading people’s privacy,” and drove off.

Moments later the same vehicle accelerated off the roadway and onto the grass where Sokol was standing. Sokol jumped clear. He was not hurt. Video shows the Jeep striking his camera equipment. He read the plate, Maine registration 841-LZD, into the camera.

The Maine Wire said the entire interaction was captured, including security footage from a nearby business. Editor-in-chief Steve Robinson later identified the driver as Hayward and said Hayward called him, apparently thinking he had reached police, and gave a roughly 10-minute interview that was turned over to investigators.

In that call, reported by The Post Millennial, Hayward denied he tried to kill anyone, then admitted the reporter “fired me up” and “disrespected me.”

He said he recognized Sokol from prior reporting and was angry about “the way he talks, like, bad about addicts and stuff.” He claimed he is a patient at the clinic and was on his way to get methadone. He hung up after realizing he was talking to a reporter, not a cop.

Robinson wrote on X that Hayward “admitted that he was extremely familiar with Joe, watched all of his content, and targeted him because of his politics.”

The Maine Wire reported that in a separate phone interview Hayward denied attempted murder but admitted his actions were motivated by disagreements with Sokol’s reporting.

Sokol later said on Facebook: “I just almost got murdered. All caught on tape.”

After the near-miss, Sokol confronted staff at the clinic and told them a patient had just tried to run him over. According to the outlet’s video, instead of calling police, a woman repeatedly ordered him off the property.