ICE Security Guard Rams Pickup Truck Through Crowd Of Protestors
During a peaceful anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protest Wednesday evening, a man drove his pickup truck through a line of Jewish protestors.
The incident occurred outside of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, a privately run prison operated by ICE in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
The protestors were on-site condemning Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies while chanting for the abolition of ICE. The group linked arms, forming a line to block the center’s entrance, when a man was videoed driving towards sitting protestors just before 10:00 p.m. He briefly stopped, honking his horn, as they stood up, shouting, “shame” and “the world is watching.”
After braking, the driver increased his speed, ramming into the crowd of approximately 30 people.
Activist group Never Again Action posted the clip yesterday that has since gone viral.
The crowd refused to disperse and the Wyatt Detention Center guards proceeded to pepper-spray several demonstrators. The group tweeted that the Rhode Island state police did not apprehend the man, or the guards, but “just stood by and did nothing.”
Buzzfeed News reports several people were hurt and taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening wounds, including leg fractures and back injuries.
According to Newsweek, one of the protest's organizers, Amy Anthony, revealed the man behind the wheel was identified as a correctional officer.
"We have confirmed that the person driving the truck is a correctional officer who works for the detention facility," she said. "The driver was in his uniform when he hit the protestors. His rank and name were embroidered on his shirt and he was wearing a badge at the time."
His identity has yet to be confirmed with law enforcement.
This isn’t the first time someone has drove their vehicle through protestors.
Almost exactly two years ago, activist Heather Heyer was ran over in Charlottesville, Virgina when neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. plunged his car into a crowd. Fields was sentenced to life in prison on hate crime charges.
