After months of investigation, a man accused of plowing into a group of peaceful pro-abortion protesters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been arrested.
David Huston, 53, was charged Tuesday with assault, using a deadly weapon, and leaving the scene. Witnesses say Huston drove his truck into the group of protesters marching together just after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June.
Video posted to social media shows a dark-colored pickup truck driving into the group as they cross a street, hitting someone, and then pulling off.
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According to HuffPost, the investigation was delayed because one of the witnesses was Linn County Prosecutor Nick Maybanks, who recused himself from the case and passed it along to Black Hawk County.
Brian Williams, a Black Hawk County prosecutor, said in a statement that Huston drove his pickup truck “aggressively” into the protestors, but there was “no evidence known to us that this was in any way politically motivated.”
Williams added:
“Huston had a green light [and] he appears to aggressively approach with his vehicle while the protestors remained on foot ... Other vehicles in the area appear to simply wait for the protestors,” the press release reads. “There is no evidence known to us that this was in any way politically motivated nor is there any evidence that the protestors were aggressive in any way towards any members of the public.”
Witnesses to the event say Huston actually drove his truck around other cars to speed through the crosswalk directly at them.
“We made eye contact at that point, and I saw hate. Just hate,” one protester who was hit told HuffPost. “He screamed at me to move, and I remember shouting ‘No,’ and he started driving. And that’s when I knew I was going to get run over.”
Huston’s license plate was identified at the scene, The Gazette reports, and he was voluntarily interviewed. However, police did not press charges at that time.
The woman whose foot Huston ran over gave an interview at the time of the crash. She says he “charged the crowd” with his truck.
Another witness, Linn County Supervisor Stacy Walker, told The Gazette, “As I crossed the street, I heard a commotion … I turned back to see a truck driving into the crowd with at least two young women—one of whom is a Linn County staffer—directly in front of the vehicle, and another woman appeared to be engaged with the vehicle near the driver's side.”
Walker added that he believed the truck was not going to stop. “The driver accelerated and injured several young women in the process,” Walker said. “Thankfully, the women in front of the vehicle were not run over."
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