An Angry Mob Chased Our Reporter Through Cairo's Tahrir Square

Business Insider sent reporter Robert Johnson to Cairo to see how the largest Arab country is holding up more than two years after the revolution.

By all reports, Egypt is getting ugly again, as the democratically elected Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood block further elections and continue oppressive policies of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

But we didn't know it was this bad.

On his first day in Cairo, Robert watched from his hotel window as a man was beaten in Tahrir Square. In the next 24 hours, raiders on motorcycle attacked the square, perhaps in retaliation, and later a full-on window-smashing riot broke out.

See Robert's full account of the riot and photos here >

When our reporter ventured into the square, he was confronted by a mob, led by a man with a stick.

Robert Johnson/Business Insider

At this point, Robert got away as fast as possible, while his translator stalled the mob.

Robert Johnson/Business Insider

The mob tracked Robert by pointing and shouting until he got to safety here. He met up with his translator nearby, after the man gave a sharp whistle that they agreed on as a signal.

Unfortunately, these guys wanted Robert to leave to square too — except for one man who invited him in English to keep taking pictures and follow him back to the center of the square. Robert smartly got the heck out of there.

This madness is happening in the capital city of world's largest Arab country, a supposedly modern democracy that has been allied with Western governments for centuries.

See Robert's full account of the riot and photos here >