The Hungarian journalist who tripped fleeing migrants insists she's 'not a heartless, racist, children-kicking camerawoman'

Petra Laszlo apologizes for tripping fleeing migrants
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Hungarian media outlet N1TV fired camerawoman Petra Laszlo after she was filmed tripping migrants fleeing the police:

On Thursday, Lazlo apologized in the conservative newspaper Magyar Nemzet. "I was scared as the crowd rushed toward me, and then something snapped in me," she explained. "I'm not a heartless, racist, children-kicking camerawoman," she added. "I do not deserve the political witch hunts against me, nor the smears or often the death threats. I'm just a woman, and now an unemployed mother of small children, who made a bad decision in a situation of panic. I am truly sorry."

You can try to ascertain Lazlo's level of panic in the video below. N1TV is allied with Hungary's far-right Jobbik party, The New York Times notes, which, along with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been vocally opposed to the massive influx of immigrants from Syria, Afghanistan, and other violence-torn regions. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.