[VIDEOS] – Prison officer drives pickup truck into crowd of protesters when they refuse to move

A correctional officer at a prison in Rhode Island drove into a crowd of protesters when they wouldn’t move. The protesters were upset about prison holding ICE detainees while they await trial:

NEWSWEEK – A man, allegedly a correctional officer, drove a pickup truck into a group of Jewish peaceful demonstrators protesting outside the Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of Jewish protesters, mostly members of Never Again Action, a group that advocates for the rights of migrants detained by ICE, gathered outside the Donald W. Wyatt Detention facility in Central Falls on Wednesday evening. The protesters stood blocking the entrance of the facility, linking arms while chanting for the abolition of ICE and the end to America’s harsh immigration policies.

At around 10 p.m. local time, a dark-colored pickup truck drove slowly up to a group of roughly 40-50 protesters blocking the entrance to the location’s parking lot, before driving straight through the crowd, according to a video uploaded to Twitter.

Amy Anthony, one of the protest’s organizers, told Newsweek that the group has identified the man driving the truck 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.”

Never Again Action claimed in a tweet that the truck belonged to an “ICE guard,” however later clarified that he was a correctional officer in a press release.

Here’s video of the man in the truck driving into the crowd:

Five protesters suffered non-life threatening injuries from being hit by the truck, Anthony told Newsweek. Two of the protesters were taken to hospital for their injuries. The extent of their injuries are currently unknown.

A dozen officers came out of the facility after protesters surrounded the truck and attempted to move the protesters, Anthony said. When the crowd did not disperse, the officers used pepper spray on several of the demonstrators, according to Anthony and a video of the incident.

The video showing the crowd getting pepper-sprayed is turned sideways. But it’s worth craning your neck for to see the reaction:

Here’s my take. The man shouldn’t have driven his truck into a crowd of protesters. He should have called other officers to assist in moving these protesters along, as they did later with pepper spray.

That said, you can’t call it a peaceful protest when you are blocking the entrance to the prison and their parking areas. I don’t care what these news outlets say, if you are breaking the law it’s no longer a peaceful protest. I am glad, however, that no one was seriously injured.


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