A California woman facing criminal charges for ramming a car into a crowd of Trump supporters in September has now been accused of beating two men with a rod at another protest a month earlier, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.
Tatiana Rita Turner, 40, of Long Beach, will be charged with a total of 13 felonies in connection with the two protests, prosecutors said.
Turner made headlines nearly four months ago when counter-protesters crashed a “March 4 Equality” demonstration against alleged police brutality that she had helped organize. She was arrested on September 26, 2020, after speeding away from a group of people that had surrounded her car.
The Orange County D.A.’s office on Wednesday said Turner would be charged with additional crimes stemming from her alleged behavior at another protest in Seal Beach on August 29, 2020. Law enforcement says Turner “is accused of using an approximately four-foot rod to repeatedly beat two men as they lay on the ground after being beaten by a group of protesters.”
“The Seal Beach attack left one of the victims with injuries to his head so severe they required staples,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Wednesday afternoon.
Spitzer’s office also announced criminal charges against five others “who attended dueling protests in Yorba Linda” on September 26 following a months-long review of video evidence.
The Associated Press reported in September, “several dozen people in Turner’s group had been preparing to march…when a group of people, many hoisting American flags and Trump 2020 banners, grew on the other side of Imperial Highway.”
Trump supporter rips up BLM signs in Yorba Linda, California pic.twitter.com/tLtp2AxC6y
— The Patriot (@PatriotsUsa45) September 27, 2020
Authorities had requested the two groups stay apart, “but a group of men crossed the six-lane highway and confronted the racial justice group in a series of angry exchanges,” the outlet reported. “As the confrontation grew and became heated, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department declared an unlawful assembly and told the groups, estimated at 250 people total, to leave after fights were reported and some people were said to be carrying weapons.”
Protest today in Yorba Linda, CA
The Trump supporters outnumbered us probably 10 to 1 pic.twitter.com/p9dfKyw2be
— Tommy (@_manwow) September 26, 2020
As the Los Angeles Times reported at the time:
A defense lawyer said Turner tried unsuccessfully to get help from deputies Saturday after her group was overwhelmed by a hostile crowd.
Turner saw people with guns and feared for her life when she got into her car, which was then blocked by Trump supporters, attorney Ludlow Creary II said. She was trying to get away and didn’t intend to hit anyone.
“There were actions that caused her to become fearful for her life, and that’s when she accelerated,” Creary said.
However, D.A. Spitzer maintained Turner “positioned her vehicle to be used as a backup weapon, and she used that vehicle as a deadly weapon, willing to injure and kill those who stood in her way.”
Someone ran their car through a crowd of Trump supporters. OC Sheriffs took the person into custody. Ambulances were dispatched, but I don't have information on injuries pic.twitter.com/EAWBSXS8R1
— Antifa VP–Putsch division (@desertborder) September 26, 2020
Law enforcement told the L.A. Times that one man suffered two broken legs, and a woman sustained major and moderate injuries.
Turner was ordered held on $1-million bail, and her lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, according to the Times.
On Wednesday, D.A. Spitzer’s office announced charges against Danielle Lindgren, 44, of Corona. Prosecutors say she “was hospitalized for several months after Turner ran over Lindgren’s head and back with her car during the September 26, 2020 protest.” According to a news release, Lindgren has been charged with one misdemeanor count of possessing a baton. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
“We support the right to peacefully protest, but these are not peaceful protests,” Spitzer said on Wednesday. “These are organized protests that encourage others to engage in civil disobedience and violence. We continue to review all surveillance footage to identify other suspects, regardless of what side of an issue they are on.”
According to prosecutors, Turner has been charged with one felony count of attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, six felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of mayhem, and two felony counts of the use of pepper spray by a felon in connection with the Yorba Linda demonstration. She faces an additional felony count of using a stun gun on a counter-protester at that event. For the Seal Beach incident, prosecutors say she will be charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Spitzer said the additional charges would be filed at Turner’s next court date on February 18. According to Spitzer’s office, Turner “faces a maximum sentence of seven years to life plus 26 years in state prison if convicted on all charges. She has previous felony convictions for drug sales and domestic violence.”