Man arrested for driving U-Haul into Iran protesters in Los Angeles was released on $0 bail
The man who was arrested for ramming protesters against the Islamic regime in Los Angeles was given a $0 bail and was released on his own recognizance.
Iranian dissidents have organized one of the largest political demonstrations against the ruling regime and have been met with brutal state violence in response. Hundreds have been killed in the clashes, with some estimates reaching over 1,000 dead.
‘The demonstrators tore the signs off the truck and attacked the driver, who then drove toward a group of LAPD officers.’
Supporters of the dissidents have protested in cities across the globe, but one group in Westwood was violently attacked by a man driving a U-Haul truck.
Video showed protesters attacking the man as police dragged him away from the scene. He was later identified as 48-year-old Calor Madanescht. Only minor injuries were reported from the incident.
The truck had signs on it indicating that Madanescht was opposed to the demonstration. One side read, “No Shah,” which refers to the ruling leader before the Islamic regime overthrew the Western-backed Shah.
However, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is trying to determine whether he intentionally rammed the protesters or was reacting to being boxed in by the protest.
He was only charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving.
“Officers stopped the truck and directed the driver to turn around,” reads a statement from the Los Angeles Police Dept. on Monday. “The demonstrators tore the signs off the truck and attacked the driver, who then drove toward a group of LAPD officers.”
Investigators said nothing significant was found inside the truck after it was impounded and searched.
Madanescht was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail but was released on $0 bail. The Los Angeles City Attorney will review the case.
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Iranian and Middle East studies professor Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani at USC told KABC-TV the man appeared to be opposed to both the Islamic regime as well as the previous Shah.
He went on to say that the regime’s actions to cloud reporting on the demonstrations had made it difficult to ascertain how many people had been killed.
“It’s difficult to know the scale and the size because the communications have been cut off, and that’s by design, right?” Movahedi-Lankarani said. “The government doesn’t want the news to be easily spread about what is happening there.”
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a statement of support for the anti-regime protesters and said that help was on the way.
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