A U-Haul truck driver drove into a crowd of demonstrators protesting Iran’s government in Los Angeles.
Video from Sunday, Jan. 11, spread across social media and appears to show the truck speeding down a street lined with protesters. After the vehicle stopped, people in the crowd surrounded it.
According to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and KNBC, police detained the driver. One person was hit but reportedly did not suffer serious injuries.
Additional footage shows protesters trying to strike the driver after officers removed him from the truck.
LAPD Capt. Richard Gabaldon told the L.A. Times the driver could face a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. No ambulances were called to the scene.
Per the L.A. Times, a banner draped on the truck read: “No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah.”
The message appears to reference Iran’s former Shah, who was overthrown during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Gabaldon told the L.A. Times investigators believe the incident began with an altercation in the crowd and was not an act of terrorism. The suspect reportedly has no prior arrest record.
The Los Angeles protest came as reports of mass demonstrations continue in Iran.
CNN reported, citing a human rights group, that more than 500 people have been killed and thousands arrested since the protests began.
