Maryland State Sen. Catherine Pugh tells off Geraldo Rivera and Fox News crew at Baltimore protests:

A steely state senator showed diplomacy and poise, persuading Fox News to dial down its inflammatory coverage of Tuesday night’s Baltimore protests and swiftly defusing a confrontation that was brewing between Geraldo Rivera and irate protesters.

“We want the media to move back,” Maryland state Sen. Majority Leader Catherine Pugh told Rivera after nearby demonstrators interrupted their interview on the streets of the troubled city.

When the flustered Fox anchor said it seemed like those in the crowd “want trouble,” Pugh sternly shut him down.

“No, they don’t want trouble,” she said. “We want our people to go home, but we also need the media to move back, because this is just inciting people.”

Rivera relented after her remarks, instructing his crew to move elsewhere.

He was interviewing Pugh after the city’s 10 p.m. curfew had passed, and more than 100 protesters remained on the streets, taunting a line of police officers in riot gear.

Demonstrators shouted at Rivera and walked in front of the camera, quickly testing the reporter’s temper.

“You’re making a fool of yourself!” the moustachied Rivera, who called the demonstrators “vandals,” yelled while trying to pull one man out of the spotlight.

Some continued castigating Rivera as he interviewed Pugh; one woman repeatedly accused him of “making money off of black pain,” but his critics kept quiet after Pugh escorted Rivera away.

It wasn’t the Democratic lawmaker’s only act of peacemaking during Tuesday’s tensions. Photos showed Pugh comforting one protester, who appeared on the verge of tears as he embraced her in front of protesters and media. It’s unclear if they previously knew each other.

he also got on a loudspeaker, as the curfew approached, and urged people to "take your babies home."

Pugh’s actions drew mixed reactions online. Some criticized her for appearing to empathize with the rioters, but several prominent followers defended her compassion and tactics.

“Fascinating on Fox News to have Catherine Pugh correctly identify TV cameras as a source of tension in Baltimore,” novelist Ben Greenman tweeted.

Pugh became the Senate majority leader this year, and she is also the president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

After a bitter two-hour standoff between protesters and police trying to enforce Tuesday’s curfew, including a brief confrontation involving tear gas and pepper balls, the protests dissipated, sparing the city the mass destruction that ravaged Baltimore on Monday night and earlier Tuesday.

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