Police arrest driver in Washington after witnesses claim he tried to run over antifa demonstrators with his truck

Antifa spray silly string at police during a protest in Portland, Oregon.

(Image credit: ATALIE BEHRING/AFP/Getty Images)

published 11 September 2017

Police in Vancouver, Washington, arrested a driver who witnesses claim tried Sunday to run over antifascist demonstrators with his truck, KGW Portland reports. The man was ultimately not charged with a crime. Vancouver's "antifa" march had been organized as a counter-protest to a right-wing "Patriot Prayer" rally that was taking place in the city at the same time.

While no one was seriously injured, the incident in Vancouver seemingly parallels the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month, when a man drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters objecting to a white supremacist gathering, killing one person.

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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. [Willamette Week]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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