As tensions between anti-ICE protestors and Trump’s immigration agenda for mass deportation continue to flare up in the US, cities like Portland have become a lightning rod for demonstrations and civil unrest. While anti-ICE protests continue to take place across the country, harrowing footage of a demonstrator getting intentionally run over by a vehicle in Oregon is circulating online right now.
At the beginning of the clip, which is recorded from the perspective of the protestor stood behind the vehicle, you can see a man wearing a blue coat with his door open staring at the protestors behind him. The car is slowly rolling forward, and you can see the protestors angrily giving him the middle finger. While it’s unclear what has been said, it appears that some words have been exchanged between the demonstrators and the driver before the camera has started rolling.
One of the protestors can be heard asking, “Do you a kid in the car?” but the really shocking moment occurs when the driver closes his car door. Once the Lexus vehicle stops, the driver puts it into reverse, and backs up quickly, running over one of the protestors stood behind. The camera violently shakes as the impact rocks the protestor, and you can see several of his belongings go flying across the road. A few other witnesses nearby give chase to the dangerous driver before the footage comes to a close.
While the shocking video is brief, it’s clear that the driver behind the wheel intentionally reverses his car to run over the protestor stood behind his vehicle.
With the video spreading online right now, viewers were left in shock at the driver’s savage manoeuver. One Redditor simply wrote, “Well that’s a straightforward case“, with another expressing, “Runs over? This is attempted murder“. Elsewhere, another commenter penned, “Straight to jail“.
With this incident in mind, it’s worth noting what Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently said in an interview with The Rubin Report:
We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets, and a mob comes in, surrounds your vehicle, and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety.
The Rubin Report, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you. You don’t have to just sit there and be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets.
However, it’s fair to say that this particular incident is different, because the protestors were not “impinging” on the driver, as his route was clear. Instead, the driver deliberately reversed his car into the protestors, which is a completely different scenario. In addition, it’s also worth mentioning that this incident occurred in Oregon and not Florida. In short, we’re hopeful that the police can find and identify the individual behind the wheel, and charge him for assault or attempted murder, as that is what it looks like from the video evidence in question.
