Oklahoma Says OK! To Running Over Protesters With Your Car

As Democrats work towards vaccinating the nation and extending help via the American Rescue Plan, state-level Republicans are wreaking havoc on their own constituents. When they’re not decimating voting rights or passing hideous anti-trans bills, several Republican-led state legislatures are working towards making it legal to run over protesters with cars.

In a deeply disturbing development, the Oklahoma state House passed a bill that would grant immunity to drivers who “unintentionally” run over protesters. House Bill 1674, which passed 79-18 along party lines, would remove any criminal or civil liability for any driver who “unintentionally” injures or kills someone while “fleeing from a riot,” as long as they have a “reasonable belief” that fleeing would protect themselves from harm. The bill would also punish protesters for “unlawfully obstructing” traffic, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $5,000 in fines.

The bill echoes a similar anti-protest bill in Florida, as the Republican party continues its embrace of fascism.

Let’s be very clear: this is a direct response to the Black Lives Matter protests from last year, and a blatantly racist and un-American attempt to suppress free speech and our right to protest. It also emboldens violent groups and individuals to murder protesters in broad daylight with zero repercussions.

During the Charlottesville protests in 2017, civil rights activist Heather Heyer was murdered, and dozens more were injured after a white supremacist plowed through a crowd of peaceful protesters. Summer Taylor was murdered in Seattle last summer when a man barreled through a police barrier while driving the wrong way on a freeway. In the first six weeks of protests last year, there were 66 incidents involving protesters being struck by vehicles.

Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, said “This is a tactic that has been around for several years … It was originally used early on by Islamist extremists — ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas — but in the last five years or so, we have seen this tactic being adopted by the far-right.”

And how are cops supposed to determine when vehicular assault and murder is “unintentional” or based in self defense? Are these cops the same ones pepper-spraying Black Lives Matter protesters and high-fiving Kyle Rittenhouse? The same cops that rammed through a barricade in an SUV in Brooklyn?

Democratic state reps like Monroe Nichols and José Cruz called out the dangerous racism of the bill on Twitter.

Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, tried to direct the Oklahoma Legislature toward solving the root issue, i.e. racism and police brutality, stating, “If we were honest with ourselves, stuff didn’t just happen over the summer. Stuff has been happening for centuries. Could we be reasonable? Could we try to get to the root cause of why people are in the streets in the first place?”

The bill now heads to the state senate, where Republicans hold a supermajority. Oklahoma has a Republican state government trifecta, in which the state house, senate, and governorship are all controlled by Republicans.

(via The Oklahoman, featured image: Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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