Group of BLM Protestors Hit by a Racist Driver, One Killed; Fourth Incident in Less Than a Month

In what is becoming an all-too-common occurrence of late, another car has struck a group of protestors, causing numerous injuries and at least one death.

NPR’s Jaclyn Diaz has reported that “one woman is dead after a man drove into a crowd of protesters late Sunday night in Minneapolis. The suspect is in custody, according to the city’s police department.”

According to Diaz, “demonstrators were gathered to protest the June 3 shooting death of Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a 33-year-old Black man, by U.S. marshals in Minneapolis. At about 11:39 p.m. Sunday, a car sped into protesters that were standing along Lake Street and Girard Avenue in the city’s Uptown area, hitting and injuring at least three people.”

Police later confirmed that an adult woman was critically injured at the scene and later declared dead at the hospital as a result of the crash. The alleged suspect was pulled from the wrecked vehicle, restrained and arrested. His identity and the reason for his attack on the protestors have not yet been released.

Several other motor vehicle attacks on protestors have made headlines in recent weeks. On May 17, the driver of an SVU in Fayetteville, North Carolina swerved towards a number of Black Lives Matter protestors and attempted to hit them with his vehicle. He was later revealed to be a prominent court of appeals judge. 

Just eight days later, a woman in Elizabeth City, North Carolina was arrested for a similar attack. Lisa Michelle O’Quinn is accused of striking a group of peaceful marchers with her car. She has been charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count each of careless and reckless driving and unsafe movement.

And just a day after that, in New York City, an angry driver hit two protesters with his car near the Brooklyn Bridge, “traveling five blocks with one clinging to his hood” before being apprehended by the NYPD.

According to the New York Post, “Jason Alicea, 21, was driving his Volkswagen sedan ‘aggressively’ to force his way through around 30 bicyclists, who were riding in tribute to George Floyd on the anniversary of his murder by former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin.”

Alicea was charged with reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident.

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