SHOT. . .
NPR has an article up on an epidemic of alleged “right-wing extremists” using their vehicles to ram protesters:
https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1274713491153326081
CHASER. . .
The photo NPR is using for its article is from Louisville and is was the protesters who were arrested, not the driver:
Two charged in Louisville altercation where vehicle hit protester; driver not charged https://t.co/FrZxNEiHWn via @courierjournal
— Ben Tobin (@TobinBen) June 18, 2020
From the Courier-Journal where we find out that the woman was attacked and one of the protesters aimed a gun at her:
According to a police incident report, around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, a group of protesters blocked the intersection of Liberty and Sixth streets and would not let the driver, operating a Buick LeSabre, pass.
The driver, whose name was redacted in the report, told police that protesters surrounded her car and “a verbal altercation occurred after which the protesters began to reach into her car, scratching her vehicle window … and assaulting her, pulling her hair (pulling out a dreadlock).” Police say the driver sustained a minor injury.
The report goes on to say that the driver told police that after seeing one of the protesters with a handgun, she was “in fear for her life and drove away from the crowd.” She subsequently hit one of the protesters running toward the vehicle.
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Update (5:10 p.m.): Video added:
Here's a fuller video of what you're calling a "right-wing extremist attack" … a driver is harassed by a group of people, tries to get away, is then attacked by a larger group… and uses their vehicle to defend themselves and get away.
This story is leftist bullshit. pic.twitter.com/771gEebiqg
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 21, 2020
And there hasn’t been any information released about the driver, so she could be a “right-wing extremist” with a dreadlock:
Wait.. just thought of something. How do you know if the person in the car is “right wing?”
Maybe they saw what happened to Reginald Denny during the LA riots. they didn’t wanna be next.
Remind me why taxpayers fund you? https://t.co/Wcn0pbj3xj
— LaurieAnn ??♂️? (@mooshakins) June 21, 2020
As for NPR’s story, their reporting doesn’t back up their tweet:
Right-wing extremists are turning cars into weapons, with reports of at least 50 vehicle-ramming incidents since protests against police violence erupted nationwide in late May.
At least 18 are categorized as deliberate attacks; another two dozen are unclear as to motivation or are still under investigation, according to a count released Friday by Ari Weil, a terrorism researcher at the University of Chicago’s Chicago Project on Security and Threats. Weil has tracked vehicle-ramming attacks, or VRAs, since protests began.
The 20 people facing prosecution in the rammings include a state leader of the Virginia Ku Klux Klan, as well as a California man who was charged with attempted murder after antagonizing protesters and then driving into them, striking a teenage girl. Video footage of some attacks shows drivers yelling at or threatening Black Lives Matter protesters before hitting the gas.
So, other than the KKK guy, they don’t really know the political leaning for most of the incidents. Other than that, well done and a great use of taxpayer funds.
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Editor’s note: This post has been updated with an additional tweet.
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