Abortion protester hurt in altercation with pickup truck driver

[brooklynite]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: The Gazetts

CEDAR RAPIDS — Police are investigating how an argument Friday evening between a pickup truck driver and demonstrators protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against abortion rights led to a collision between the truck and a pedestrian, who was injured in the altercation.

Police interviewed the injured protester, who was later taken by a car to the hospital to be evaluated, and the driver of the truck.

But no arrests were announced and police said they were scouring the area for surveillance video cameras that may have captured the incident. Videos posted to social media showed a truck with its window rolled down with what appears to be the driver exchanging words with several protesters around the truck, including some crossing the street as the vehicle continued to move forward.

...snip...

"What happened today was an act of pure violence,“ said Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker, who rushed to help women who were in front of the truck. ”Young women who were protesting the recent Supreme Court decision that threatens their right to health care and bodily autonomy were targeted. Many of them were physically hurt and many will be afflicted by the mental trauma of this event. It is my hope that the individual responsible for this act will be brought to justice, and that the basic human rights of all people can be honored in this country."

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/abortion-protester-hurt-in-altercation-with-pickup-truck-driver/

[Funtatlaguy]

1. Fox News will lead every day now with "pro abortionist" violence.

[sop]

6. "The FBI cannot document any pro-abortion terrorism, but that doesn't stop it from institutionally

treating phantom pro-choice violence as equivalent to manifested anti-abortion violence...In 2017, the FBI distributed a brief 'Abortion Extremism Reference Guide' at a counterterrorism training for local law enforcement, listing 'pro-choice extremists' as a group of domestic terrorists. The document, first reported by Jezebel, claimed that these extremists 'believe it is their moral duty to protect those who provide or receive abortion services," though even this document noted that only one 'pro-choice extremist' had ever been prosecuted. Additionally, an earlier FBI training document obtained by the ACLU in 2012 referenced pro-choice violence but did not 'provide a single example of violence against abortion opponents,' the ACLU wrote."

https://foreverwars.substack.com/p/abortion-pro-life-terror-operation-rescue-tiller

[msfiddlestix]

2. police are looking for a video, isn't this image sufficient? n/t

[paleotn]

8. In Iowa? Probably not.

The jackass will probably get off scott free, run for Congress next and likely be elected. This is the land to Steve King after all.

[rsdsharp]

16. Cedar Rapids is in Linn County, in eastern Iowa. It's blue. So is Iowa City in nearby

Johnson County. So is Des Moines in Polk County in central Iowa. King was from western Iowa, or as I call it, eastern Nebraska.

[Calista241]

9. They'll have to see the whole video.

A still image does not make a case. The truck driver will almost certainly say their vehicle was being damaged, and they were in fear of assault, which necessitated a need to escape, which unfortunately hurt a few people.

This happened with the Jeep in Colorado a few years ago.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. George Zimmerman Defense: I look for and start shit and when it gets out of hand I start a killin'

[Mr. Evil]

12. With a personalized plate like that

it should be quite easy.

[IronLionZion]

17. Plenty of people have shared videos of it

Iowa law protects the drivers not the protestors

[JPPaverage]

3. I saw someplace where Hawley said no violence

During anti abortion protests. I'm sure this must be what he meant.

[Historic NY]

4. Until they completed movement they still had the ROW

“Preliminary investigations indicate a group of protesters were attempting to legally cross the street in front of the Federal Courthouse when the traffic lights changed, giving right of way to vehicles on 8th Avenue,” the statement said.

[csziggy]

5. I've always understood that pedestrians had the right of way

I guess Iowa disagrees.

[paleotn]

10. Right of way regardless in most jurisdictions....

Most sensible places consider running over pedestrians to be a bad thing no matter what.

[sop]

7. DeSantis passed a law making it ok to run down protesters with your vehicle.

"Florida's Trump-loving governor just made it ok to hit protesters with your car."

"Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed an 'anti-riot bill' into law that, among other things, grants civil immunity to people who decide to drive their cars into protesters who are blocking a road."

"The bill...also penalizes local governments that interfere with efforts to stop riots (protests); prevents people accused of rioting (protesting) from being bailed out of jail until after their first court appearance; and makes it a second-degree felony to destroy (property)...That would make such actions punishable by up to a decade in prison."

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/04/ron-desantis-anti-riot-bill

DeSantis' law was originally created to target BLM protesters, but he'll probably declare abortion protesters to be "rioters" when they take to the streets following the SC's Roe decision.

[FBaggins]

13. Iowa has a similar law

At least as it applies to the OP

https://casetext.com/statute/code-of-iowa/title-viii-transportation/subtitle-2-vehicles/chapter-321-motor-vehicles-and-law-of-the-road/miscellaneous-rules/section-321366a-immunity-from-civil-liability-for-certain-vehicle-operators

[Traildogbob]

14. BING Fuckin GO

That gives the cult permission nation wide. Run over protesters. Maybe it’s time to plow over Nazis in our streets. I use to be proud of the Country I served, even with its many faults then. We still had hope of what it could be. I no longer have any hope, and I am damned ashamed of it. No more pledges, no more anthems, no more standing hand over heart no more USA USA USA.
Not until I see the MAJORITY that we are, take off the gloves and take this war to them as soldiers have done for so many wars, most of THOSE wars not about us at all. This one is damn sure a war for us, about us and our children. No questioning why or what the hell we are fighting for. The reason is in our faces. God DAMN the GQP and its media. And if he is on their side as they claim, screw him too. I am sick of being sick and feeling helpless and seeing our majority confused about how to take it all back.

[Mr.Bill]

23. Well said. n/t

[Scruffy1]

21. I grew up partly in Iowa,

My how Fucks news screws up a state. It was a god place back then.

[mainer]

15. License plate holder ID'd: Pipe Pro Inc.

And the internet is already piling on:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/pipe-pro-cedar-rapids

[rpannier]

20. If I were one of the other companies I'd add,

"And our drivers don't run over people in the crosswalk, or anywhere else."
or
"In out X-years of service, we have never run over anyone."

[SWBTATTReg]

18. How ironic. Those against abortion were advocating in some circles violence and now that

Roe vs. Wade has been overturned, they're still committing acts of violence. Hypocrites.

[Lil Liberal Laura]

19. So, the Ruling is Already Leading to Violence Against Women

And I kinda have a crazy hunch there's gonna be more.

[Mr.Bill]

22. As I've mentioned here before,

I spend some time frequenting wingnut websites and they have been flooded with posts for the last several years telling people it is perfectly legal to run over people in the street if thay don't get out of your way. This is, of course, not true but I'll bet there are a lot of people out there who believe it.

[jmowreader]

24. I wonder...

If liberals were bringing half a dozen armed security to our protests, would this bullshit continue?

[JudyM]

25. Locking

The hosts unanimously voted to lock this story for not meeting the SOP:

Important news of national interest only.

The overturning of Roe is an important national issue, but this single person injury is a local news incident.