WTAJ van destroyed in riot

Rioters in State College protesting Penn State’s decision to fire legendary football coach Joe Paterno overturned a satellite truck owned by Altoona’s CBS affiliate.

According to WTAJ-TV (10), the van was parked on East College Avenue and McAllister Street on Wednesday night, covering the demonstrations, when “a large group of young people surrounded the vehicle and began chanting.”

WTAJ and Penn State’s student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, report that the rioters broke out the windows, pushed the van onto its side and began smashing the equipment. Police disbursed the crowd using pepper spray. No WTAJ employees were injured, the station says.

The Daily Collegian, which covered the events live using its Twitter feed, reported that demonstrators several times attacked reporters, throwing rocks at a cameraman and yelling “f–k the media.”