On November 17, 2000, Fox News Channel TV host Shepard Smith was arrested outside the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee and charged with aggravated battery with a motor vehicle, a felony, in conjunction with an incident earlier that afternoon. At approximately 2 pm, Maureen Walsh, a freelance journalist, was standing in an empty parking space in a lot across the street from the State Capitol, reserving it for co-workers. When she refused to move at Smith’s request, he drove his Mazda Millenium into the space anyway, striking her in the legs, throwing her onto the car’s hood. Walsh said that Smith left his car, walked past her, and returned to work in the media tents erected outside the Capitol building. Capitol police took Smith into custody around 3 pm; by the end of the day he posted $10,000 bail and was released from Leon County Jail. The charges against Smith were ultimately dropped by the Leon County prosecutor’s office.

David Shepard Smith Jr. was born on January 14, 1964 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He hosts Fox News Channel programs The Fox Report with Shepard Smith and Studio B. Smith is famous for his rapid pace hosting style, covering 60 to 70 stories or more in an hour, often spending as little as 20 to 25 seconds on any given report. His career in journalism began in Florida. He later served as a correspondent for the show A Current Affair before joining Fox News Channel in 1996.