Truck Drives Through Crowd Of May Day Protesters In Durham

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A May Day demonstration against immigration policies in Durham, N.C., took a scary turn for protesters Monday when a driver of a Dodge pickup truck pushed through a line of marchers on their way to City Hall. The incident occurred less than one week after state lawmakers passed a bill that would protect drivers from lawsuits if they hit and injured protesters with their vehicles.

The driver faced off with protesters outside of the Durham County Jail in downtown Durham, according to a local television news report. A safety marshal for the group of demonstrators described the incident as scary, saying that there were children and people with different physical motility abilities “who were not able to pick up and move,” she told ABC 11. The truck pushed through the crowd, and there were no injuries.

You can see footage of the incident here:

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Just last week, House Bill 330 passed the N.C. House April 26, calling for driver immunity from civil liability for any injury if an injured person was protesting or demonstrating in a public right-of-way. “This bill does not allow for the driver of a vehicle to target protesters intentionally,” said Republican Rep. Justin Burr, who sponsored the bill, according to the News & Observer. “It does protect individuals who are rightfully trying to drive down the road.”

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, is a “shockingly horrible” piece of legislation, said Wayne Goodwin, the North Carolina Democratic Party chair. “One of the cornerstones of American democracy is the right to peacefully assemble and demonstrate, but with this bill North Carolina Republicans are giving motorists a free pass to run over protesters without any fear of civil liability, he said.

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