Johnson City TN: BLM Street Militants vs Motorists - Outrage as people blocking street struck by car - 12 Sept 2020
Brent Chaffin, one of the protest organizers, said demonstrators were marching from the Johnson City Police Department when they stopped to block traffic to pressure motorists to make the police stop racist killings of black people.
Brent Chaffin posted a video on Facebook showing the angry protesters demanding that the driver stop as they shouted commands. The video does not show what happened immediately before the driver moved forward inching past the demonstrators who stood in front creating a human road block. The driver then pulled forward as the crowd became angrier and threatening. Two people blocking the vehicle were struck and one may have been run over. The driver fled from the angry mob.
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| West State of Franklin Road crosswalk adjacent to Spring Street |
The video, which is about 20 seconds long, shows the demonstrators standing in front of a white SUV in the West State of Franklin Road crosswalk adjacent to Spring Street before the vehicle lunges forward and strikes them; protesters said the vehicle then left the scene.
The
man seen being struck in the video was taking photos of the march,
according to Chaffin, and had his knee “messed up pretty bad.” Another
person’s bicycle was reportedly crushed by the SUV after they placed it in front of the vehicle.
“We were doing
the regular route, from Founders Park up to the police station and the
police station down State of Franklin,” Chaffin said, “and we stop at
that crosswalk and we stay on both sides of that crosswalk for a while."
According a statement from the Johnson City Police Department,the vehicle was a white Ford Expedition. In the video, several people can be heard yelling that the driver had North Carolina tags.
The video did not show what led up to the incident, but Chaffin said it began when the driver reportedly began inching forward, trying to get past the demonstrators. At that point, people began to block the vehicle. The driver then pulled forward, striking two and appearing to run over at least one.
“We’ve been utilizing the lights — the crosswalk function — to go back and forth whenever the lights are on, and we’ve done our best to be lawful while doing that.”
One man was shown lying on the
pavement after the impact, and was reportedly taken to the hospital. His
condition wasn’t immediately clear. He was not wearing a helmet while blocking the large SUV.
In the video, it’s unclear if the lights were flashing, but both people appeared to be in the crosswalk. Chaffin said the lights were on at the time, and that protesters had nearly been struck in other recent marches.
“One car actually bumped into my thigh a couple of days ago, but it wasn’t quite as big of a deal as this,” Chaffin said. “What happened today was the most escalated it got.”
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| Brent Chaffin |
Chaffin did not explain why the protesters seem to be fixated on automobiles and blocking traffic. Other street militants have said that because of US racism there will be "no business as usual" so motorists should be prepared to wait patiently while BLM protesters and anarchists block public roads while police stand by passively and watch after being ordered to 'stand down.'
Another street blocking protest was scheduled to happen Sunday, 13 September 2020, around 6:30 p.m. in response to the incident. Motorists should be on the alert and be prepared to stop and wait. Do not honk a horn, or make any complaints.
“We decided we’re going to march tomorrow, obviously in response to this,” Chaffin said. “We might have marched tomorrow anyway, but now we’re definitely going to.”
Black Lives Matter events have been a regular occurrence in downtown Johnson City since the Memorial Day.
Attempts to reach the Johnson City Police Department were unsuccessful Saturday night.
Johnson City police sought the public’s help Sunday to find a driver captured on video evading a
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| Johnson City Medical Center |
BLM/Anarchist checkpoint during a protest in Johnson City Saturday night.
The JCPD releasesaid they were reviewing witness videos, traffic cameras and cameras from surrounding businesses. The demonstrator who was injured was taken to Johnson City Medical Center.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at (423) 434-6166 or crime stoppers at (423) 434-6158 to remain anonymous. Anonymous can also be sent by texting 423JCPD and the tip to 847411 or on www.citizenobserver.com. Messages can also be sent via the JCPD website.
Update: Jared Benjamin - in Washington County Detention Center - Booking Photo 14 Sept 2020
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