Protester Accused of Attempted Murder Says Cops Didn't Help Her

Tatiana Turner allegedly drove car into crowd of Trump supporters at BLM rally
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 30, 2020 7:21 AM CDT
Prosecutor: Protester Drove Car Into Crowd of Trump Supporters
Black Lives Matter protesters and counterprotesters clash in Yorba Linda, Calif., on Saturday. An Orange County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman says people injured after being hit by a car at a Black Lives Matter protest were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.   (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP)

The organizer of a Southern California rally against racism was charged with attempted murder Tuesday for driving her car into a crowd of counterprotesters. Orange County prosecutors say Tatiana Turner deliberately drove into a crowd of President Trump's supporters with the intent to kill a woman, whose head she drove over, and seriously injured another man, who broke a leg. Defense attorney Ludlow Creary II, however, says Turner feared for her life Saturday when she got into her car surrounded by Trump supporters, was trying to get away from the crowd, and didn't intend to hit anyone, per the AP. The confrontation occurred outside the Yorba Linda Public Library, during a march planned by Turner and the Urban Organizers Coalition against police brutality and systemic racism. A group of counterprotesters, many of them holding American flags and wearing Trump garb, confronted Turner’s smaller group.

The conflict became heated and led to fights, authorities say. Turner, who'd seen counterprotesters with firearms, called 911 for help and "got the runaround," then appealed to deputies who were patrolling the growing crowd, Creary says. "Sheriff's deputies on scene didn't do anything," he says. A video showed Turner getting in her small white sedan, surrounded by counterprotesters, then moving forward into the crowd, pushing several people, before accelerating and speeding away as the crowd moved in from both sides. Turner's group, which has expressed sympathy for those injured, planned a Wednesday presser to point out the inconsistency on charges others who've driven into protesters in recent months have faced. The sheriff’s department says it will look into Turner's allegations. Turner, 40, who has a felony record for drug sales and domestic violence, also faces other felony charges. She was ordered held on $1 million bail.

(More protests stories.)

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