Authorities in Virginia detained a 21-year-old man who they say purposefully drove an SUV through a crowd at the town’s “No Kings” day celebration.
On June 14, Culpeper police officers detained Joseph R. Checklick Jr., a Culpeper resident, following the demonstration. Participants were leaving the area and crossing a business parking lot when an SUV drove “recklessly through the crowd of pedestrians,” according to a news release from the department.
According to the announcement, Culpeper Police have charged Checklick with careless driving. He came before a magistrate and was ordered to be jailed without bond in the Culpeper County Jail.
Officers reported that they halted the vehicle and identified the driver as Checklick.
According to the preliminary inquiry, Checklick “intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the dispersing crowd, striking at least one person with his vehicle.” There were no injuries reported to police. According to the announcement, law enforcement has yet to identify the individual Checklick is accused of striking with his vehicle.
The incident occurred amid the ‘No Kings’ protests.
The event in Virginia occurred during a nationwide “No Kings” demonstration against the Trump government. Organizers stated 5 million people participated in protests across the country.
The “No Kings” marches, rallies, and demonstrations were planned to coincide with the Army’s “Grand Military Parade and Celebration,” which is held on Trump’s 79th birthday and Flag Day.
A woman was killed at a Virginia protest in 2017 after a guy drove his automobile into the crowd.
Several years ago, a car plowed into a gathering of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one of them.
James Alex Fields Jr. was convicted of killing Heather Heyer after purposefully driving into a crowd protesting a “Unite the Right” gathering in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.
Fields was convicted of first-degree murder and eight other counts, including aggravated malicious wounding and hit-and-run.
Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and human rights activist, was slain, and almost three dozen others were injured in the attack.
