U-Haul truck drives into crowd of Iran protesters in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES - On Jan 11 afternoon, a man in a U-Haul truck drove through a group of people in Los Angeles marching in support of the anti-government demonstrations occurring in Iran.

Police detained the driver of the vehicle, which hit one person, who did not suffer significant injuries, Captain J. Michael Bland, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department, said in a statement.

Several thousand people had gathered for the protest in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, the Police Department said.

Videos shared with The New York Times by a person at the protest, as well as videos posted on social media, show the truck making its way through a packed crowd of people holding Iranian flags and signs that said “Justice For Iran”.

The truck, periodically accelerating and pausing, had its own signs that seemed to discourage potential American involvement in Iran’s political crisis.

Some in the crowd screamed at the vehicle. Videos posted on social media show protesters breaking a window of the truck.

After the truck stopped, police officers detained the driver. Some in the crowd continued to punch him in the face and attack him as officers took him away.

No formal arrests had been made as of Jan 11 evening, but the driver remained in police custody pending further investigation.

It was unclear whether the driver was intentionally seeking to harm the crowd or struggling to move his vehicle through it.

The west side of Los Angeles, including the Westwood neighborhood, is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, and the relationship between the United States and Iran is a fraught issue there.

Of an estimated 400,000 Iranian-born immigrants living in the United States, more than a third live in the Los Angeles region.

The demonstrations in Iran began about two weeks ago, following a protest over economic grievances when the country’s currency plunged.

These protests have since grown. Human rights monitors say 200 people may have been killed, and the government has blocked internet and phone communications.

The protests are one of the gravest challenges to authorities since the Iranian Revolution nearly 50 years ago.

US President Donald Trump said on Jan 11 that the United States government was considering interceding in the Iran crisis and was reviewing options, including military ones.

Mr Roozbeh Farahanipour, one of the leaders of the 1999 student uprisings in Iran, said that he saw the truck go through a crowd of people. He said that many had gathered peacefully to denounce the current Iranian government.

“Everyone is standing heart-to-heart because they want to bring the regime down,” said Mr Farahanipour, a restaurant owner and the chief executive of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. “That’s scary for the regime. They have not seen this kind of unity and participation from the people.” NYTIMES

• Jesus Jimenez and Matt Stevens contributed reporting.