Man arrested for ramming protesters with his car in Bakersfield. Long video shows why he did it.

by SooperMexican

Last night there were videos posted of a man plowing through protesters in Bakersfield, California. He has been arrested and charged today:

Here’s one of the shorter videos of what he did:

But that isn’t the whole story. In another video, he COMES BACK to target protesters again:

Now I could see some people try to defend his actions as those of someone panicked because they’re being surrounded and possibly attacked by protesters. But that he turned around and went for another swing at the protesters makes it very difficult to justify his actions. I think this dude is in a lot of trouble.

And there’s a much longer video that shows the entire sequence, including a police officer actually blocking the guy before the incidence, and then just letting him go:

It’s very weird. Why did the police officer block him just to let him go? If he did something wrong, why not detain him? If he didn’t do anything wrong, why did they block him in the first place? Very weird.

Here’s another angle where you can clearly see the protesters surrounding him:

Another very important detail is that the protest was permitted, and the police had blocked off the streets for the protest, according to people who went there. That makes a big difference, if it’s true.

Here’s more details of the man arrested:

Bakersfield Police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder who they said drove a small SUV into a group of protestors and injured at least one Friday evening in downtown Bakersfield.

The incident occurred during a demonstration in front of Bakersfield Police Department headquarters. BPD said 200 to 300 individuals protested in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed May 25 in Minneapolis while being arrested by a police officer.

The rally was one of many taking place throughout the country in recent days regarding the incident.

BPD said in a news release that Michael Tran, 31, drove by protestors several times in a Toyota Rav4. He engaged in conversation with them and possibly antagonized the group, BPD said.

The release stated Tran gestured at several protestors, who approached the car. Tran accelerated quickly and drove through the crowd, hitting a 15-year-old girl and causing minor injuries, BPD said.

Officers arrested Tran nearby and booked him into Kern County Jail, according to the release.

Whatever you think of his motivations, this is terrible all around.


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