The founder of an activist group called Caravan4Justice was charged on Saturday by law enforcement officials in Southern California for allegedly ramming a car into a crowd of Trump supporters.
“At approximately 3 p.m. after several dispersal orders, a vehicle in the parking lot of the Yorba Linda Public Library at 18181 Imperial Highway struck at least two individuals,” The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The driver, believed to be part of the Caravan for Justice, continued to leave the parking lot and was detained a short distance away from the incident. The two people struck, a man and a woman believed to be at the protest, were transported to a nearby hospital with major injuries but are expected to survive.”
“The driver, Tatiana Turner, 40, of Long Beach, was arrested,” the department added. “She will be booked into the Orange County Jail for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and the investigation is ongoing.”
#OCSDPIO Protests today in Yorba Linda resulted in two arrests and injuries to multiple people, with a vehicle driving into a crowd, striking and causing major injury to two people. The driver was arrested for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. pic.twitter.com/7g5txlPf1y
— OC Sheriff, CA (@OCSheriff) September 27, 2020
The Daily Mail identified Turner as a “Black Lives Matter organizer,” adding:
The chaos unfolded as about 250 people gathered, some with a group called Caravan4Justice supporting Black Lives Matter, and others to stage a nearby counter-protest supporting President Donald Trump.
Federal records show that Turner filed a trademark application for Caravan4Justice in July, and a GoFundMe campaign names her as the group’s ‘founder’.
Police confirmed that Turner is believed to be a member of the Caravan4Justice.
CBS Los Angeles and ABC7 Eyewitness News also said that the protest was a Black Lives Matter protest.
Sgt. Dennis Breckner of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said, “The people in the crowd that were hit were in the Trump support group.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that the man who was hit “suffered two broken legs and was hospitalized and one woman suffered major and moderate injuries throughout her body,” according to officials.
WATCH:
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
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said that when the protest and counter-protests started that there were approximately 150 people present and by the time officials had to declare an unlawful assembly, approximately 250 people had gathered.
“Approximately 30 minutes after the protests began, we began to receive reports of physical altercations occurring between the two protest groups, including at least one individual who was pepper sprayed by another protestor,” the department said. “At that time, the crowd grew to approximately 250 protestors. Due to the physical altercations and reports of individuals within the crowd having weapons, an unlawful assembly was declared and a dispersal order was issued.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article described the activist as a “pro-BLM” activist. The group she founded, Caravan4Justice, is not directly affiliated with BLM. Other outlets, including CBS and ABC affiliates, have described the activist as a “Black Lives Matter activist.”