Tuesday night in New York City, when control of Black Lives Matter had begun at Washington Square Park more than an hour later ended, an SUV approached a line of other Americans on protective procheckers at the corner of 42d Street and First Avenue.
When protesters asked the reason for force to another direction and encouraged others to “explode their tires,” the force of reason accelerated through the motorcycle lane, stopped and then rushed through the protesters.
“It didn’t stop, ” a witness told NY1. “The younger friend put the pedal on the metal and the greatest friend went through the crowd. It was devastating.”
Miraculously, no one was injured in the incident, however, this is only the delay in an upcoming trend of attacks by vehicles opposed to procheckers in recent weeks.
According to the knowledge gathered through Ari Weil, deputy director of studies at the Chicapass Project on Security and Threats at Chicapass University, Tuesday night’s incident marks no less than the 68th vehicle attack circulating through the rustic since George Floyd killed on May 25, causing a wave of anti-racism protests circulating through the rustic.
A variety of attacks and incidents have been reported for only one week. Several protesters were injured and one was killed.
On Saturday, protesters had accumulated on a segment of Interstate five in Seattle for an hour when a white vehicle broke through a police blockade and headed toward protesters at “h8 speed,” according to Washington state police, beating two victims. One of the victims, Summer Taylor, 24, died more than an hour later at Harborview Medical Center. The other user who was shot, Diaz Love, 32, remains in serious condition at a Seattle hospital. The driver, Dawit Kelete, 27, was arrested and charged with assault.
Also on Tuesday night in Seattle, a force of reason got on the sidewalk to avoid other cars blocking the street to give direct protection to protesters walking down the street. A video taken through a resident in an apartment on the street monitors that the force of reason was not so logical when a protester begged them to do so. No injuries were reported to the incident.
In Bloomington, Indiana, Monday night, the force of reason for a red Toyota sped into a crowd of scattered protesters. As the vehicle was advancing at full speed, a woguy clung to the hood of the vehicle as a boy clung to the door handle of the force of reason. Two other Americans were wounded in the attack.
As well as the attacks themselves, experts are expressing concerns about increased activity among an online community that opposes the protests and jokes about protesters getting injured. These jokes and memes often encourage vehicular attacks on protesters, targeting the Black Lives Matter movement in particular.
“It’s not just an extremist thing here, but there are also online social media circles where other Americans express them and joke because they don’t do protests and their methods,” Weil told the New York Times. “Sharing memes and joking about crushing other Americans can create genuine danger.”
Coverage: 2020 7/7/20 Black Lives Matter protests continue in New York City over the coronavirus pandemic. STRF / STAR MAX / IPx