On Friday evening, protesters from Occupy DC gathered near the Washington Convention Center, where the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity was holding a gala. During the multifaceted protests, hundreds attempted to station themselves around all exits leading from the building.
It was at this point that, along one of the roads leading out of the convention center, a silver Lexus ran through a line of protesters, hitting and injuring three. (All appearances indicate an attempted hit-and-run.)
Occupy DC protesters converge on the Washington Convention Center as the one percent from Americans for Prosperity look on from within.
The progression of events (as they are come in) are posted below in chronological order. For the latest updates, scroll to the end of the post:
10:35 PM - This is a pic of one of the people injured. Little is known at this time of his condition. Another protester injured is also being treated:
10:38 PM - A few protesters who ran into the street demanding that the driver be arrested have, themselves, been arrested. It appears that the driver is not being arrested.
10:40 PM - Below is a pic taken not long ago of activists blocking the exit doors to the Convention Center, where (among others) Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are reported to be in attendance:
10:46 PM - Protesters are continuing to march and attempt to protest at the Convention Center. Protesters on site claim that the car which hit two protesters was an attempted hit-and-run, and that protesters ran into the street to block the car from leaving.
Apparently, the police felt differently, for reports from the ground are that the driver has been released. Waiting for confirmation on this.
10:51 PM - A stream of protesters have broken off and are now at the White House. No confirmation on the injured or the driver of the car yet.
10:54 PM - Lucy Kafanov, of RT, has Tweeted this:
About 20 here chanting. Fury as driver who injured 2 #OccupyDC protesters was allowed to leave #OWS
10:57 PM - Lucy Kafanov (and others) have confirmed that the driver who hit two protesters was not arrested. On the LiveStream, I could not determine the exact make of the vehicle, but one thing was clear: it was a very nice car, likely a silver Mercedes.
Additionally, there has been no update on the status of the two protesters who were injured, one of whom (if not both) was taken away for medical treatment.
11:00 PM - Here is an update from the Washington Post's local beat:
Hundreds of Occupy D.C. protesters blocked streets Friday night around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where a conservative group was holding a dinner.
It appeared from preliminary accounts that two people, possibly protesters, were struck by cars near the center.
About 500 protesters stood in the streets at half a dozen intersections around the building, preventing cars from coming or going.
Several said that their aim was to prevent those inside from leaving.
In addition, it appeared that small fights were breaking between protesters and other people, possibly neighborhood residents.
11:15 PM - Here is a link to a video from earlier, when protesters were gathering in the streets outside the convention center.
11:20 PM - Fox in DC has an update, which seems to indicate police acknowledging that it was an attempted hit-and-run:
WASHINGTON - At least three Occupy D.C. protesters have been hit by a car at 7th and K Streets in northwest around 9:50 on Friday night.
Police say the car hit the first group, then kept driving, and hit a third person before it was stopped. Two people have been taken to the hospital.
A FOX 5 photographer on the scene says protesters have surrounded the car and are shouting "shame!"
One person is in custody.
Unfortunately, that one person in custody, according to all reports on the ground, is a protester, and not the driver of the car.
11:28 PM - Boom, we have a picture of the car from WJLA, and it appears to be a silver Lexus:
11:39 PM - Below are two pictures of the injured protesters, care ofWJLA:
11:45 PM - There is now video of the car and (possibly) driver:
11:53 PM - While unconfirmed, reports are coming in that the driver of the car was not released, but rather escorted to another location for questioning. This despite reports from Lucy Kafanov (and others) on scene who indicated that the driver was released.
If it is indeed the driver in custody, and if the driver was not released, I will feel (from a law enforcement perspective) a whole lot better about this story.
11:55 PM - Here is a full (and long) video from when the protesters were hit:
11:56 PM - I should note something that I have yet to comment on: one of the original protests organized tonight was a snarky and effective guerrilla drive in.
While clearly a strong form of civil disobedience, protesters who chose to block the doors and exit routes were doing so with some risk. This is not to justify what occurred. However, it is to note that blocking the street is a potentially dangerous activity.
12:02 am - Thankfully, it appears the driver is in custody, contrary to reports from several media on the ground at the time. This from Dave Stroup:
BREAKING: DC Councilmember Tommy Wells reports driver who struck #occupydc protesters is in custody.
Additionally, the car reportedly left the convention garage, hit one protester, then continued and hit two more before being stopped.
9:20 am - According to The Washington Post, the driver has not been cited, placing blame on the protesters. While it is true they were in the street, blocking traffic, video testimony (posted in updates above) as well as Twitter reports indicate that the car intentionally tried to break through the line of protesters. Here's the report from the WaPo:
Hundreds of Occupy D.C. protesters blocked streets Friday night around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where a conservative group was holding a dinner.
Three people were injured after apparently being struck by cars, authorities said.
Lt. Christopher Micciche of the D.C. police told the Associated Press that the driver was not cited because he had a green light when his vehicle struck three people.
He said witnesses told police that the three pedestrians “either ran toward or jumped in front of the moving vehicle.” He said one pedestrian jumped on the hood of the car. One of them was cited for being in the roadway.
“The protesters were apparently trying to block the roadway,” Micciche said. “It was essentially an accident where three individuals were injured but they were in violation by being in the roadway.”
D.C. fire department spokesman Lon Walls said Saturday morning that the three were transported to two area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
The witness accounts provided by the police contradicted the description of the events some protesters gave The Post.
10:36 am - An eye-witness account has been posted by awkawk.
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