As vehicle attacks on protests mount, Tennessee reckons with legacy of driver immunity bill
Hailing from different cities in Tennessee, Shiloh Barnat Goodman and Peter Capretto have never met. Yet they share a growing trauma among protesters. Each was hit by an SUV while helping to marshal a demonstration against racism.
The incidents occurred more than three years apart, encompassing the lifespan of a phenomenon that’s grown rapidly despite proving deadly. A California man died in June after being hit by a car at a demonstration, as did a Seattle protester July 4.
Capretto, a religion professor at Belmont University in Nashville, said the reason for the uptick in incidents is simple: Cause and effect.
“Politicians have been laying the ground work to give citizens the green light to enact violence against protesters,” he said, “For years.”
Read more: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2020/07/20/driving-cars-through-protesters-grows-with-demonstrations/5322616002/