Sibrel attempted to coerce and film Aldrin swearing an oath on a Bible that he had been on the Moon. Witnesses came forward to the police indicating that "Sibrel had aggressively poked Mr Aldrin with the Bible". When Aldrin refused Sibrel's on-camera request, Sibrel followed him, saying "you're the one who said you walked on the moon when you didn't". The BBC reported that "Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Ratinoff told Reuters... videotape shot by a cameraman hired by Mr Sibrel had shown the film-maker follow Mr Aldrin, calling him a 'thief, liar and coward'." Still being recorded by Sibrel's camera crew, Aldrin responded with, "will you get away from me?", and then punched Sibrel in the jaw. On the day following the altercation, a statement from a lawyer for Aldrin described the "6-foot-2, 250-pound Sibrel forc[ing Aldrin up against a wall and refus to let him leave", thus making the case for self-defense. Aldrin made the case to police that he had been attempting to defend "himself and his stepdaughter, who was with him at the time".