During last Sunday’s broadcast of Fox & Friends, co-host Pete Hegseth tossed an axe and was lucky he didn't kill a member of West Point’s Hellcats marching band when he missed his target.
June 23, 2015

The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur let Fox's Pete Hegseth have it for his stunt over the weekend, where he was damned lucky he didn't maim or kill a man who was unfortunate enough to be near him when he threw an axe at a target and missed badly.

Fox & Friends Co-Host Pete Hegseth Hits Man with Axe:

During last Sunday’s broadcast of Fox & Friends, co-host Pete Hegseth tossed an axe to tease an upcoming segment on timbersports, missed the target, and hit a marching band percussionist standing in the distance.

West Point’s legendary Hellcats marching band played throughout the show, in honor of Flag Day and the Army’s 240th birthday. One of its lead drummers, Jeff Prosperie, performed adjacent to the caged section where Hegseth grabbed the axe and tossed it at a large wooden board for a segment tease.

The axe flew over the target by more than a few inches and hit someone off-camera, behind the board. Fox showed Hegseth grimacing, while bystanders cupped their mouths in shock. The cameras then cut to the marching band, playing out the tease with the drum solo, while Prosperie walked around in the background, visibly grabbing his right arm.

Here's what Prosperie posted on Facebook following the incident:

In a Saturday Facebook post, Prosperie revealed that he had been hit by a flying axe that missed its target after being thrown by Hegseth.

During the segment where the incident occurred, Hegseth can be seen recoiling and although Fox News didn’t air the actual accident, Prosperie can be seen grabbing his arm as he paces behind the other drummers on camera.

Prosperie’s post, which had video of the incident, included this caption:

I was hit by an axe while performing a drum solo live on National TV…..words I never imagined saying! This happened last Sunday and I have been reluctant to post but starting to receive inquiries from concerned family and friends. I am thankful to God that the double sided blade only hit broadside on the outer elbow with significant impact and a couple of cuts as it fell along my wrist. It could have been much worse or fatal. Focusing on full physical and emotional recovery.

Prosperie commented on his post with additional details about the incident.

Jeff Prosperie Pat, we were doing commercial bumps on Fox and Friends Sunday morning celebrating the Army's 240th birthday and flag day. My leadership told me they were told there would be no axe throwing. I think the anchor person went rogue and decided to throw it. He had only thrown it once before in practice for an upcoming segment and they told him to throw it with more force. The vid you see is edited showing the Televised portion of the throw and then edited to a portion that was taken on someone's phone of us being videoed. The part that was actually televised showed the overthrown axe and then segued to us for the drum solo bump, only showing me walking behind the section holding my arm. The actual part where the axe hit me was not televised. Poor decision, obvious negligence, should not have happened, could have been avoided. When shooting or throwing, always know what is behind your target. Basic safety rule. I'm feeling blessed on Father's day with my 5 children, alive, and with all limbs.

Prosperie, who was interviewed by Hegseth shortly after the accident, didn’t say whether he was compensated after the incident or whether he had plans to bring a suit against Fox News.

All I can say is if the Koch brothers favorite son over at Faux "news" does end up getting sued, it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy, unless of course you include almost everyone else who works at that vile network as well.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon