Last week on November 17, 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was randomly attacked and set on fire while riding a Chicago commuter train, leaving her with life-threatening injuries. A suspect was apprehended hours later and has an unfathomable 72 prior arrests, but was still allowed to roam the streets in a Democrat-run city defended by the left as anything but a criminal hotbed.
Given this incident underscores the urgency shown by President Trump to address crime in major U.S. cities, the liberal elites at CBS and NBC have omitted this story from their flagship morning and evening newscasts.
ABC wasn’t much better with only one full, 79-second segment back on the November 19 World News Tonight. Anchor David Muir — who often lacks the ability to speak in complete sentences — announced: “Tonight, federal terrorism charges after a horrific attack on a commuter train in Chicago. Prosecutors say the suspect see on surveillance allegedly setting a woman on fire. Tonight here, we do have news on her condition.”
After almost restating word-for-word what Muir had just said in the lead-in and sound from a Chicago-area ATF agent calling the incident “an unprovoked attack,” correpsondent Rhiannon Ally summarized the criminal complaint:
According to a criminal complaint and train surveillance, on the night of November 17th, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed holding a small bottle approaches a woman from behind, where he took the cap off the bottle, and poured a liquid from the bottle all over the victim’s head and body. Prosecutors say he lit the bottle and used it to light her on fire.
A soundbite from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana did little to restore faith in humanity as he noted MaGee wasn’t attended to and the flames extinguished by Good Samaritans after “the train stopped and the victim was able to muster the strength to stumble on the platform.”
“Reed was captured about 12 hours later. Surveillance images from a gas station allegedly show Reed filling a bottle with gasoline before the attack. David, Reed faces life if convicted. That rider still has critical injuries. Prosecutors are now asking for prayers,” Ally concluded.
ABC left out some key facts that our friends at the Daily Wire did not because they, on the other hand, have a newsroom that’s entirely made up of actual journalists.
Amanda Prestigiacomo had the details (click “expand”):
Video shows the suspect dousing MaGee in gasoline and chasing her on the train car before setting her ablaze on November 17. Reed, who’s been arrested 72 times, allegedly shouted “burn alive b****” and “burn b****” during the attack.
(....)
Reed’s criminal history includes eight felony and seven misdemeanor convictions, according to the Associated Press. Reed’s arrests concern arson, assault and battery, and other offenses.
At the time of his most recent attack, Reed was ordered to wear electronic monitoring due an aggravated battery charge accusing him of hitting a social worker. Cook County prosecutors wanted to keep Reed behind bars until his trial, but the judge released him.
(....)
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has not commented on the attack.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, called the attack an “isolated incident” and largely blamed it on a supposed lack of funding for “mental health” in the city.
Sadly, the main newscasts on CBS and NBC weren’t alone in ignoring this story as a Snapstream search showed no interest on MS NOW. In contrast, this horrible evil received repeated mentions across multiple days on the Fox News Channel, NewsNation, and Newsmax. A Snapstream search found one lone CNN mention on American Pulse, which airs at....4:00 am. Eastern.
CBS had one on-air mention, but it came during the little-watched, little-known middle-of-the-night show, CBS News Mornings. Host Michael George read this 35-second brief on Thursday’s show:
From the Chicago Tribune, federal terrorism charges in a horrifying incident on the city`s famed L train. And a warning, these next images are disturbing. Surveillance cameras captured a woman apparently being set on fire while riding a train in Chicago’s Loop Monday night. Prosecutors say the attack appears to have been random. The woman is now in critical condition. Lawrence Reed is charged with committing a terrorist act against a mass transit system. In court, the 50-year-old admitted he’s guilty and says he’ll act as his own attorney.
To see the relevant ABC transcript from November 19, click “expand.”
ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir
November 19, 2025
6:30 p.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Arrest After Subway Rider Set on Fire]
DAVID MUIR: Tonight, the federal terrorism charges, the horrific attack on a commuter train. The suspect seen on surveillance allegedly setting a woman on fire in Chicago. We have do have news on her condition tonight.
(....)
6:37 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Arrest After Train Rider Set on Fire]
MUIR: Tonight, federal terrorism charges after a horrific attack on a commuter train in Chicago. Prosecutors say the suspect see on surveillance allegedly setting a woman on fire. Tonight here, we do have news on her condition. And here’s ABC’s Rhiannon Ally.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; Arrest After Train Rider Set on Fire; Victim in Critical Condition: Suspect Charged with Terrorism]
RHIANNON ALLY: Tonight, the man seen on these surveillance images, allegedly setting a woman on fire on a Chicago commuter train, is facing federal terrorism charges.
ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE FOR ILLINOIS AND THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA CHRISTOPHER AMON: A 26-year-old woman was deliberately was set on fire by Lawrence Reed in an unprovoked attack.
ALLY: According to a criminal complaint and train surveillance, on the night of November 17th, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed holding a small bottle approaches a woman from behind, where he took the cap off the bottle, and poured a liquid from the bottle all over the victim’s head and body. Prosecutors say he lit the bottle and used it to light her on fire.
U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS ANDREW BOUTROS: When train stopped and the victim was able to muster the strength to stumble on the platform, two good Samaritans put out the flames.
ALLY: Reed was captured about 12 hours later. Surveillance images from a gas station allegedly show Reed filling a bottle with gasoline before the attack. David, Reed faces life if convicted. That rider still has critical injuries. Prosecutors are now asking for prayers, David
MUIR: Rhiannon Ally reporting tonight. Rhiannon, thank you.
