U-Haul drives into crowd at Los Angeles anti-Iranian regime protest
A U-Haul truck drove into a crowd of demonstrators in Los Angeles during an anti-Iranian regime rally in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
Police said that the driver, an adult male, has been detained pending further investigation into the incident.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said two patients were evaluated at the scene and both declined treatment and transport.
The rally took place in the Westwood neighborhood. California Highway Patrol requested the Los Angeles Police Department's help with traffic control, shutting down the 405 Freeway ramp on Wilshire.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said on X that the FBI is investigating the incident.
"FBI is on scene working with LAPD to determine the motive of the driver. This is an active investigation and we will update the public when we have more information," he said.
The demonstration in Los Angeles comes as the death toll from mass protests in Iran has risen to over 500 people, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Sunday.
The group said it has confirmed the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 members of security forces. At least 10,600 people have been arrested, according to HRANA.
ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers. The Iranian government has not provided any death tolls during the ongoing protests.
HRANA said in its Saturday update that it had recorded 574 protest locations across 185 cities and all 31 provinces of the country.
Saturday marked the fourteenth consecutive day of protests in the country, but demonstrations have been spreading in Iran since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, with participants demonstrating against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency, the rial.
As the protests spread, some have taken on a more explicitly anti-government tone, with some protesters chanting slogans including "student, be the voice of your people," and "death to Islamic Republic."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke to reporters on the scene of the demonstration on Sunday, calling on protesters to "exercise your First Amendment rights peacefully."
"We know that the protest that took place here today is about the situation in Iran, in solidarity or not with the protests that are happening within Tehran and around the country, and because we have a robust Iranian diaspora here, their concerns and their issues were expressed today," Bass said.
