los angeles — Accused man Drive a U-Haul truck Among a crowd of supportive demonstrators Iranian people A Los Angeles man was in police custody over the weekend and will likely face assault charges, authorities said Monday.
The driver had not been identified and was in the process of being arrested and booked early Monday, said Officer Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
“At this time, it is an open traffic investigation,” LAPD Capt. Richard Gabaldon previously said. “We are looking at a possible assault with a deadly weapon, and the deadly weapon is the vehicle used.”
A man was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Gabaldon said. The Los Angeles Fire Department said paramedics evaluated two people and both refused treatment. Police and Mayor Karen Bass declined to answer further questions.
The episode unfolded Sunday afternoon in Westwood, a neighborhood home to… The largest Iranian community abroad. The U-Haul truck was forced by protesters out of the way, then they chased it as they tried to reach the driver.
The truck’s window and side mirrors were shattered and it was stopped several blocks away, surrounded by police cars. ABC7 Helicopter footage showed officers blocking the crowd from returning as protesters swarmed the truck, punching the driver and pushing flagpoles through the driver’s side window.
Police did not provide an update on whether the alleged driver was injured in the encounter.
A sign attached to the truck read: “No to the Shah. No to the regime. The United States of America: Do not repeat the events of 1953. No to the mullah,” in a clear reference to US-backed coup That year he overthrew then-Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh, who nationalized the country’s oil industry. The coup consolidated the power of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and sparked the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which saw the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Entering the theocracy Who still rules the country.
A large crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of pre-Islamic Revolution Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veterans Avenue to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by 5 p.m., there were only about a hundred protesters in the area, ABC7 reported.
Activists say crackdown Popular protests in Iran More than 530 people were killed. Protesters flooded the streets of Iran’s capital and second-largest city, Tehran, again on Sunday. The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian currency, as the country’s economy comes under pressure due to international sanctions imposed in part on its nuclear programme. The protests intensified and evolved into calls directly challenging the theocracy in Iran.