MINNEAPOLIS — A tanker truck has been reported to have driven into a group of thousands of protesters on the Interstate 35 west in Minneapolis today, Sunday, May 31.
The Minnesota Highway Patrol said the driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. TV footage from local news sources show protesters swarming the truck, and then law enforcement quickly moving in. Other TV footage showed the tanker truck moving rapidly onto the bridge and protesters appearing to part ahead of it.
Video courtesy of FOX9 KMSP.
Officials in Minnesota say no protesters appear to have been hit. The Minnesota State Patrol said in a tweet that the action appeared deliberate.
The Minnesota Department of Public safety tweeted this message from DPS Commissioner John Harrington: “From the footage we are seeing on @MnDOT cameras, it appears the semi was on I-35W as authorities were closing the road. It didn’t appear to drive through any barricades. Driver released from the hospital and under arrest.”
The Minnesota Department of Public safety initially tweeted “very disturbing actions by a truck driver on I-35W, inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck.”
The protesters were demonstrating against the death of George Floyd. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has asked everyone to clear the area near the I-35W bridge on University and Washington avenues. People are being given the lawful order to clear the area. If that order is refused, police may use tear gas as a dispersal mechanism.
[The Associated Press contributed to this report.]
Wendy Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in strategic communications. Wendy has been a journalist and editor for nearly 15 years and has specialized in niche publications for the past eight years. Wendy draws her love for the trucking industry from growing up as a trucker’s daughter.
Tanker drives into crowd of protesters in Minneapolis on I-35; driver injured and arrested
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