Protesters at an anti-Trump rally in downtown Lafayette said a man angry about traffic jumped out of a truck, pulled out a gun and threatened them, but police release that man and seek another who head-butted the man with the gun.

Summary

At a Lafayette, Indiana anti-Trump rally Saturday, a man pulled an assault-style rifle after clashing with protesters who blocked his truck at a Third Street intersection.

Video shows the man in a MAGA hat yelling at protesters, prompting another man—angered by the confrontation with women—to intervene.

The two exchanged shouts before the protester headbutted the man. He returned to his truck, retrieved a rifle, and reentered the crowd.

Police detained but released him, citing self-defense. The “Hands Off!” rally drew nearly 1,000 people and ended early amid safety concerns.

  • MehBlah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    4 hours ago

    He will shoot next time. Like a not so smart missile they just aimed him at decent human beings.

  • Baphomet_The_Blasphemer@lemmy.world
    71·
    8 hours ago

    Self-defense requires there to be an ongoing threat to your or someone else’s immediate safety. If he was able to leave the altercation, head to his truck to retrieve his rifle, and then return to the situation that’s not self-defense, its premeditation.

  • Noxy@pawb.socialEnglish
    62·
    9 hours ago

    I bet if someone drew a concealed pistol on him after he pulled out his rifle the cops would NOT consider it self defense.

    ACAB.

  • SabinStargem@lemmy.todayEnglish
    173·
    8 hours ago

    Protestors should bear arms. Soon enough, the Rittenhouses of the right will need to be put down when they behave like rabid DOGEs.

    Conservatives escalate, and must be met in kind when they do so.

    • ubergeek@lemmy.todayEnglish
      2·
      3 hours ago

      Protestors should bear arms.

      I do. Concealed, for the moment, because my liberal NYS made it illegal to keep and bear arms while exercising your first amendment right.

      And, I’m of the wrong political persuasion to test that law.

    • daepicgamerbro69@lemmy.world
      66·
      8 hours ago

      hey, new guy. Searg said you bring him donuts ASAP. also while you go there stop by the other department and tell the guys there that boss wants to entrap even more mentally ill muslims into trying to join ISIS this month.

  • Ileftreddit@lemmy.world
    10·
    9 hours ago

    I mean lots of people open carry. Hopefully we don’t get to this point, but if someone threatens someone else with firearm, lots of localities justify lethal force at that point (one must always assume a firearm is loaded)

    • ubergeek@lemmy.todayEnglish
      4·
      3 hours ago

      No, he didn’t. We were having breakfast that morning, when it’s alleged he killed a mass murderer.

      • qarbone@lemmy.worldEnglish
        33·
        9 hours ago

        He wasn’t. Because he didn’t kill that CEO. My man’s innocent.

        Whoever did happen to off that CEO certainly did everyone a favor tho

        • daepicgamerbro69@lemmy.world
          12·
          7 hours ago

          as far as i am concerned Thompson’s body just did that weird bullet thing 3 times in a row. Seems to be a latent condition in most billionaires.

          • ubergeek@lemmy.todayEnglish
            2·
            3 hours ago

            Pre-existing condition, I’m thinking.

            The body has a way of shutting down illegitimate bullets.

          • MBech@feddit.dk
            1·
            3 hours ago

            Tonight at 11: Is being rich bad for your health? 99% of the population seem to think so, and it’s not why you think!

  • Rhoeri@lemmy.worldEnglish
    96·
    22 hours ago

    Inserts himself into a situation he wasn’t invited to, or welcome at, instigates people for the purpose of “justified” retaliation- whips out his loaded lib-killer , and is summarily released by law enforcement.

    I’d say those folks dun’ got Rittenhoused!

    • painfulasterisk1@lemmy.ml
      44·
      21 hours ago

      I agree with you. That’s not how “self-defense works”. If the snowflake geot hit, walks away from the situation, gets armed, and returns to attack the person that attacked such a fragile sheep, this is not self-defense, it’s retaliation.

      The sheep crybaby and whoever proclaimed this as self-defense are just a bunch of puppets.

      • MrBananaGrabber@lemmy.todayEnglish
        40·
        19 hours ago

        That’s most likely why the police changed the order of events around:

        “During the event, an adult male driver attempted to make a lawful turn at the intersection of Third Street andColumbia Street when his path was obstructed by protesters standing in the roadway. A verbal altercationensued between the driver and protesters,” the release said. "The situation escalated when the driver exited his vehicle and was subsequently pushed and battered by individuals in the crowd. The driver then retrieved a firearm from his vehicle in what he described as an act of self-defense.

        “He did not discharge the weapon and promptly returned it to his truck. Shortly after, a male protester approachedthe driver and head-butted him, causing injury,” police said.

        Even though multiple protesters described it otherwise. ACAB.

        Edit: punctuationification

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.worldEnglish
          13·
          9 hours ago

          It’s not a lawful turn if there is a pedestrian in the path of the vehicle.

          There was an altercation and then he retreated and came back with a firearm. That’s not self defense, that’s brandishing.

          I can understand the police not making that determination at the time, their goal should be to de-escalate and separate the conflicting parties, but they should send someone round to pick this guy up and book him for the felony he committed afterwards.

          • andros_rex@lemmy.world
            2·
            5 hours ago

            We know what side the cops are on.

            If someone had done that to protesters at a Drag Queen Story Hour or something, the cops would have slaughtered them.

  • ToadOfHypnosis@lemm.eeEnglish
    321·
    1 day ago

    If you can leave the situation safely - like being able to go back to your truck - it’s not self defense.

    • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
      211·
      1 day ago

      yup. as soon as he grabbed the gun and went back to threaten people with it… he committed the felony.

    • barneypiccolo@lemm.eeEnglish
      63·
      23 hours ago

      Self-defense isn’t going back to your vehicle to get a weapon to come back and terrorize people. That’s assault.

      If he had returned with his weapon, and someone killed him, THAT would be self-defense.

    • MBech@feddit.dk
      662·
      1 day ago

      Doesn’t matter. They even determined that planning to get yourself in an unsafe situation with the purpose of shooting protesters, travelling across states with a gun to again very intentionally get yourself in a situation where you’d need to use it, is still self defense. Even when you shoot someone without actually being in danger, it becomes self defense when other people are trying to stop you. All of this, as long as your victims are protesting against right-wing policies, has been determined in court to be self defense.

      • crusa187@lemmy.ml
        17·
        22 hours ago

        I wonder if I could legally defend myself in this manner at one of the neo nazi rallies in Springfield or Charlottesville? Somehow I doubt the police would characterize it the same way.

  • the_q@lemm.eeEnglish
    453·
    20 hours ago

    Self defense would be a headbutt back or fists, not the AmRepublican-14.

    • sunshine@lemmy.ml
      422·
      20 hours ago

      there’s video, no one was doing anything to him. he got out of his SUV, started yelling at people, returned to the vehicle, got back out with the weapon at his side. self defense would have been (a) for literally anyone to have threatened him and (b) for him to simply leave the scene.

      • Wilco@lemm.eeEnglish
        51·
        9 hours ago

        It is Indiana. Basically wild west style gun laws. You buy the gun, its yours … done. No permit, no concealed carry, nothing. You bought the gun, take it where you want. Pretty much anywhere. If people are yelling at you on the street then Indiana’s stand your ground style law basically kicks in. The state is very much “fuck around and find out”.

  • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
    1181·
    1 day ago

    How does going back to your vehicle and retrieving a n assault rifle count as self defense? That’s premeditated at that point if he were to use it.

    The difference between this, and any other mass shooting is just whether this guy decided to pull the trigger, which he obviously wanted too.

    • jared@mander.xyzEnglish
      37·
      1 day ago

      He fucked around and found out most of them were exceedingly reasonable, except the one that busted his face 😊

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
      72·
      1 day ago

      Judging by the US rhetoric over the past few years … protestors of any side for any political movement, whether left or right, legitimate or not, moral or immoral … are figuring out that you need a gun to stand your ground.

      It would be easy to destabilize any protest by just drawing a gun … then someone else answers the challenge and pulls their own gun … then more people join in … next you have a Mexican stand off… and given enough occurrences you now have a fire fight.

      It’s so volatile because of the freedom to own guns.

      It’s like watching a group of people fighting with torches next to an open pool of gasoline.