Abortion rights protester hit by truck as tensions rise over Roe v Wade

Witnesses claim the truck ‘charged into the crowd’ while protesters tried to push it back

Protesters approach a pickup truck that attempted to run over abortion-rights protesters, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US (Isacc Davis via REUTERS)

Videos are circulating on social media which appear to show a truck hitting protesters in Iowa during a demonstration against the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v Wade.

The black pickup truck reportedly drove through a crowd of pro-choice activists in the city of Cedar Rapids, hitting at least one person.

The videos online show the aftermath of the collision as protesters tried to hold onto the vehicle driving away from the scene, with several people falling to the ground as witnesses screamed and shouted.

Police said that a group of protesters was crossing the street near the federal courthouse around 7:17pm local time when a protester was hit by the truck.

The incident occurred after verbal confrontations between the protesters and a local driver, local media reported.

Cedar Rapids council member Ashley Vanorny attended the protested and tweeted: “Tonight a truck jumped traffic + plowed into peaceful protesters crossing the pedestrian walkway at the Federal Courthouse.

“I was walking along side them – the crowd included children alongside me.”

She later explained in an interview with The Sun that “everything was peaceful” and that the collision occurred at the “last leg” of the demonstration.

Police have confirmed that an injured pedestrian was taken to a local hospital for evaluation (Rachel Klosak via REUTERS)

“I think it was completely unrelated to anything that we were there for, and it [the truck] decided to jump out of line,” sais Ms Vanorny.

“They weren’t even the first [vehicle] at the stop and plowed into people as they were crossing.”

She added that the driver of the truck initially “nudged” the protesters before “deciding to do it again”.

The Councilmember claims that the driver ran over one person’s foot and hit at least three people to the ground before driving away.

One witness told local media that the truck “charged into the crowd” and that protesters “tried to push the truck back” before the driver sped away.

Police have confirmed that an injured pedestrian was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and the driver has since been interviewed and detectives are working to find surveillance video.

No charges have been filed and police are trying to figure out if the incident was deliberate.

Across the US, protests took place over the decision to scrap the constitutional right to an abortion, a ruling that came into effect almost 50 years ago.

The Supreme Court’s decision could lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states.

President Biden said in his remarks after the announcement that the government would seek to protect access to medication abortion, saying efforts to restrict it would be “wrong and extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans.”