A man was arrested in Idaho over the weekend after he allegedly drove into a pro-Trump counter-protester outside of a Tesla dealership as a group of people gathered to protest Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s government cuts.
Christopher Talbot, 70, was arrested after allegedly hitting a 49-year-old man at the anti-Musk rally on Saturday, ABC News reported. According to police, “Reports indicate the victim had been driving a truck with pro-Trump flags and had just parked and exited his vehicle when Talbot struck him with his car.” The victim drove himself to the hospital after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials.
Around 30 anti-Musk demonstrators showed up to the Idaho dealership on Saturday and were met by 200 counter-protesters, according to the Meridian Police Department. Authorities alleged that Talbot “made an obscene gesture” toward the pro-Trump counter-protester before hitting him with his car. Talbot was arrested at his home after police traced his license plate number. He was booked into the Ada County Jail and charged with one count of aggravated battery, which is a felony.
In a statement, the police department urged people “to respect everyone’s right to protest and express their 1st Amendment Rights without resorting to violence.”
While most of the protests have remained peaceful, some anti-Musk demonstrators have resorted to violence to protest Musk’s influence on government spending cuts. Last week, an incendiary device was found inside a Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, and had to be promptly removed by a police bomb squad. In Las Vegas earlier this month, a suspect allegedly lit two Tesla vehicles on fire and shot at them at a Tesla facility in what law enforcement officials described as a “targeted attack.” Numerous videos posted online have also shown perpetrators keying and damaging parked Tesla vehicles.
In one instance, anti-Musk protesters were targeted while demonstrating when a man in Florida was arrested and charged with assault for allegedly driving a car toward a crowd of protesters. No one was injured in the incident, but according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, “The protestors had to move out of the way in order to avoid being struck by the vehicle.”
Numerous anti-Musk protests have popped up across the country as groups often gather near Tesla dealerships to protest the electric car company owner and senior Trump adviser. On Saturday, over 200 organized “Tesla Takedown” protests took place in the United States, Canada, and Europe, CNN reported. A Business Insider reporter who attended two Tesla protests in Michigan wrote that the protesters “were primarily people over the age of 65, white, and retired from jobs that depended on public funding as teachers, professors at local universities, and social workers.”
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A man was arrested in Idaho over the weekend after he allegedly drove into a pro-Trump counter-protester outside of a Tesla dealership as a group of people gathered to protest Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s government cuts.
Christopher Talbot, 70, was arrested after allegedly hitting a 49-year-old man at the anti-Musk rally on Saturday, ABC News reported. According to police, “Reports indicate the victim had been driving a truck with pro-Trump flags and had just parked and exited his vehicle when Talbot struck him with his car.” The victim drove himself to the hospital after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials.
Around 30 anti-Musk demonstrators showed up to the Idaho dealership on Saturday and were met by 200 counter-protesters, according to the Meridian Police Department. Authorities alleged that Talbot “made an obscene gesture” toward the pro-Trump counter-protester before hitting him with his car. Talbot was arrested at his home after police traced his license plate number. He was booked into the Ada County Jail and charged with one count of aggravated battery, which is a felony.
In a statement, the police department urged people “to respect everyone’s right to protest and express their 1st Amendment Rights without resorting to violence.”
While most of the protests have remained peaceful, some anti-Musk demonstrators have resorted to violence to protest Musk’s influence on government spending cuts. Last week, an incendiary device was found inside a Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, and had to be promptly removed by a police bomb squad. In Las Vegas earlier this month, a suspect allegedly lit two Tesla vehicles on fire and shot at them at a Tesla facility in what law enforcement officials described as a “targeted attack.” Numerous videos posted online have also shown perpetrators keying and damaging parked Tesla vehicles.
In one instance, anti-Musk protesters were targeted while demonstrating when a man in Florida was arrested and charged with assault for allegedly driving a car toward a crowd of protesters. No one was injured in the incident, but according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, “The protestors had to move out of the way in order to avoid being struck by the vehicle.”
Numerous anti-Musk protests have popped up across the country as groups often gather near Tesla dealerships to protest the electric car company owner and senior Trump adviser. On Saturday, over 200 organized “Tesla Takedown” protests took place in the United States, Canada, and Europe, CNN reported. A Business Insider reporter who attended two Tesla protests in Michigan wrote that the protesters “were primarily people over the age of 65, white, and retired from jobs that depended on public funding as teachers, professors at local universities, and social workers.”
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