Intern at TV station erupts after firing

An intern for KSTP-TV in St. Paul, MN, did not take well to being fired. She began hurling threats at an executive producer and kicked out the glass of a conference room door in an attempt to get at her, according to a criminal complaint filed November 17..

Jennifer Nicole Anato-Mensah, 21, a University of Minnesota student, was told about 7:15 p.m. Oct. 13 that things weren't working out for her.

"This is a young girl who was not understanding concepts in a television newsroom," said Danielle Prenevost, 33, executive producer of the station's early evening newscasts. "I said, 'I don't think your level of college experience is enough for this job.' "

At that point, Prenevost said, Anato-Mensah "just lost it."

Reached at her residence hall Tuesday, Anato-Mensah declined to comment.

According to the criminal complaint:

Several newsroom employees heard Anato-Mensah shouting, yelling obscenities and threatening Prenevost, saying, "You don't know where I'm from. I'll mess you up, b ——-."

Prenevost attempted to walk away from Anato-Mensah, but the intern followed her. A male employee stepped between her and Prenevost, who went into a nearby conference room. The male employee tried to get Anato-Mensah to calm down and pack up her things, but Anato-Mensah left her desk and again tried to get to the conference room, the complaint said.

Several male employees then stood at the conference room door as Anato-Mensah continued to yell and swear and try to push her way in. At one point, she kicked at and broke a window in the conference room door. She had to be restrained to keep her out of the room, the complaint said.

"The whole situation was very scary," Prenevost said.

Finally, employees escorted the intern out of the newsroom. She was gone when police responded to the call at the station, 3415 W. University Ave. in St. Paul.

Anato-Mensah was charged with criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct. Both are misdemeanors.

News director Lindsay Radford said Anato-Mensah began the part-time paid internship Sept. 8. Prenevost said her responsibilities included logging tape and organizing tapes for the newscasts.

[This report was filed by Emily Gurnon, a Pioneer Press reporter.]