RIVERSIDE, CA — A woman participating in a Riverside “No Kings” Day demonstration was struck and seriously injured by a motorist who drove through the crowd before speeding away, according to multiple media reports.
Police told reporters the felony hit and run occurred at 9:40 p.m. Saturday on University Avenue – between Main Street and Orange Avenue – when a driver in a dark SUV rammed through the crowd without stopping after several protesters surrounded the vehicle.
Video posted on social media showed protesters gathered around the vehicle before it turns and speeds through the crowd. A voice can be heard saying “They just ran over my sister!”
No other injuries were reported.
Officers said the injured woman was hospitalized with significant injuries and that the search for the suspect was underway.
Multiple demonstrations earlier in the day were largely peaceful, according to law enforcement.
Riverside area protests, part of a nationwide “No Kings” Day demonstrations against the policies of President Donald Trump, occurred at several locations including morning rallies in Beaumont, Corona and Temecula and evening gatherings in Palm Springs and the one at Main Street Pedestrian Mall, near Main Street and University Avenue in Riverside.
In Rancho Mirage, thousands of people gathered for blocks along Highway 111 holding signs with messages such as “Clean up on aisle 47,” “Immigrants aren’t criminals but the president is,” and “No kings in America.”
The thousands who protested on all four corners at the intersection of Rancho California and Ynez Roads in Temecula were greeted by cars honking as they drove by. Protesters in Temecula were seen holding signs, including one that said, “No kings in America since 1776.”
The protests were meant as a counterpoint to Saturday’s military parade in Washington, D.C., which honored the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, and also coincided with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
The “Grand Military Parade” featured more than 6,700 soldiers and dozens of armored vehicles parading through the capital.
Opponents of the parade — the nation’s first since 1991’s National Victory Celebration, which was timed to welcome returning veterans of the 100- day Persian Gulf War — say it is a vanity project of a nascent dictator.
Trump said Thursday that he hoped the parade would show people “How great our country is, very simple, and how strong our military is.”
