Man shoots motorist during Black Lives Matter protest in Provo Utah.

The suspect drawing his gun. Social media screengrab.

A man shot and wounded a motorist during a Black Lives Matter protest in Provo Utah. KSL. The incident occurred when a motorist who was not involved in the protest or any counter-protest tried to turn where the rally was occurring. Protesters surrounded the vehicle and started to attack it while the suspect pulled out a gun and fired a shot, hitting the 60 year old driver. The driver then attempted to flee, scattering the protesters, while the attacker fired a 2nd shot, missing the driver. The gunman then holstered his firearm and then used it again to attack another vehicle by hitting its window with the gun. The driver has been hospitalized and is in stable condition. 

In the heart of Mormon country in Provo, Utah, Black Lives Matter rioters surround a car in the street before one of them pulls a gun and fires twice at the driver. pic.twitter.com/2d9idiP0iU

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 30, 2020

My Comment:
This is a major escalation from Black Lives Matter. These people were already violent and have been attacking motorists for quite some time now. But now they have stepped up to attempted murder. The driver in this case was very lucky that he wasn't killed. So far in this round of protests there hasn't been that much open violence but I guess that has changed now.

It was pretty clear that these protesters were out of control before this incident even happened. Below is another incident of a car being attacked by them. It shows people climbing on their cars and trying to get inside. The driver, very wisely, didn't stop and didn't give them a chance to do what they did to the driver that got shot.

I think that it's pretty clear that the driver in the first video didn't do anything wrong. He wasn't moving anywhere near fast enough that the shooter could claim self defense or defense of others. Indeed, the rioters attacked the driver first and the shooter had no justification in trying to stop the driver even if he ran someone down.

I can't imagine people stopping for these protests now. Why would you? If you do it's possible that you will get shot or beaten. Much better to just keep going and if people get hurt it's on them. Let's make something clear though, I'm not advocating doing what James Alex Fields did and running down protesters at high speed. That's stupid in all but the most dire situations, but I do think it's important to not stop if people are trying to get into your car.

 I generally think that any protest that involves people on streets without a permit should be broken up as unlawful. The danger of people getting hit by cars is too strong even if the protesters are behaving themselves and not trying to murder innocent motorists. The chances of that happening are extremely small though as most cities have decided to let these rioters run wild.

Of course, this kind of outcome is expected when police aren't allowed to break up protests or even arrest the kind of people that are causing trouble. Eventually people are going to get killed and we seem to be getting closer and closer to that everyday.

My advice would be this. Do whatever you can to avoid areas where this kind of protest is happening. If it can't be avoided, don't stop your vehicle if at all possible. If you have to leave plenty of room between you and the next car so you at least have a chance to maneuver. If people are attacking you feel free to keep going. I'd avoid slamming the accelerator but leave as fast as you can as safely as you can, both for you and any rioters attacking you. Do whatever is necessary to keep yourself alive, but keep in mind that you might face prosecution if you kill or injure someone.