Authorities in Virginia arrested a 21-year-old man they said intentionally drove an SUV through the crowd at the town’s “No Kings” day event.
Culpeper police officers arrested Joseph R. Checklick Jr., of Culpeper, on June 14, at the conclusion of the demonstration. Participants were leaving the area and crossing through a business’s parking lot when an SUV drove “recklessly through the crowd of pedestrians,” the department said in a news release.
Culpeper Police charged Checklick with reckless driving, according to the release. He appeared before a magistrate and was ordered to be held without bond at the Culpeper County Jail.
Officers said they stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Checklick.
Their preliminary investigation determined that Checklick had “intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the dispersing crowd, striking at least one person with his vehicle.” No injuries were reported to police. The person Checklick is accused of striking with his vehicle has not been identified by law enforcement, the release said.
Incident occurred amid ‘No Kings’ protests
The incident in Virginia occurred as millions took part in coordinated “No Kings” protests from coast to coast, criticizing the Trump administration.
The “No Kings” marches, rallies and demonstrations were organized to coincide with the Army’s “Grand Military Parade and Celebration, which falls on Trump’s 79th birthday and Flag Day.
Woman killed at Virginia protest in 2017 after man drove car into crowd
Several years ago, a car drove into a crowd of counterprotesters about an hour from Culpeper in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing a demonstrator.
James Alex Fields Jr. was convicted of killing a woman named Heather Heyer, after intentionally driving into a group protesting a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.
Fields was convicted of first-degree and eight other charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and hit and run.
Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and civil rights activist, was killed, and nearly three dozen were injured during the attack.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man arrested after allegedly driving into protesters in Virginia
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