Vancouver Police Detain, Then Release Man for Nearly Running Down Antifa Protesters With His Truck
A man driving a truck festooned with American and Confederate flags was briefly detained by Vancouver police yesterday, after he sped in reverse through a group of protesters after a “Patriot Prayer” rally in Vancouver, Washington.
A black Chevy Silverado with Oregon plates and two large American flags and several small flags hanging from its windows (along with a Confederate flag decal displayed on the back window of the cab) drove up to the marchers. It was driving slowly down a street flanked by people dressed in black bloc clothing.
As the crowd parted to clear the way for the truck to move forward, protesters filled the street behind it and started throwing rocks and water bottles at the truck.
The driver suddenly put his vehicle in reverse and accelerated toward the protesters. As he sped up, people jumped out of the street. The driver continued to drive in reverse for nearly a block, stopping at the next intersection and revving his engine.
The protesters yelled for everyone to clear the street and changed their path to escape the truck, walking down 6th Avenue to Washington Street. At that point, however, the truck re-appeared, cutting the marchers off.
A Vancouver police vehicle pulled up behind he truck, sirens blaring, and the truck stopped after turning left on Washington Street. The man, who could not be immediately identified, was detained at the scene.
Here’s video from the scene, shot by reporter Mike Bivins:
Whoa, dangerous stuff. People throwing stuff at this truck pic.twitter.com/9PJvK31euB
— Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) September 10, 2017
Protesters found the patriot truck and threw a glass bottle at it before police pulled him over and cuffed him. #Vancouver #antifa pic.twitter.com/K9RloBP8hc
— Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) September 10, 2017
Notice that the guy is smirking and clearly pleased with himself as police handcuff him. And after this, he was not arrested and charged with menacing with a deadly weapon.
Correction: This story originally said the driver of the Silverado was arrested. In fact, he was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car but later released without arrest, according to a Vancouver Police spokeswoman.