Protester accused of ‘terrorizing’ motorists stuck in traffic, North Carolina cops say

A 24-year-old protester is accused of attacking vehicles and terrorizing drivers during a demonstration in North Carolina, according to the Asheville Police Department.

It happened Saturday, May 14, in downtown Asheville, and the trouble started when participants in a demonstration “began blocking traffic,” police said in a news release.

That’s when a member of the group “began climbing on vehicles and terrorizing the occupants, amid shouts of ‘Get him out’,” police said.

Investigators did not say what the marchers were protesting. But a Women’s March was scheduled for May 14 at Asheville’s Pack Square in response to a “leaked draft opinion” that suggested the U.S. Supreme Court might “overturn Roe v. Wade,” according to a march organizer’s page.

Detectives were later able to identify a suspect among the marchers and made an arrest in downtown Asheville on May 20, police said.

Charges include tampering with a motor vehicle, failure to disperse and obstructing the flow of traffic, officials said.

Asheville has seen a series of occasionally violent protests over the past two years, including demonstrations over racial justice, removing monuments, keeping homeless camps in place, defunding the police department and protecting Roe vs. Wade.

In January, a 22-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested on charges of vandalizing City Hall in Asheville, amid a public outcry over the city removing a homeless tent camp, McClatchy News reported.

The suspect was accused of throwing rocks at the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 3:43 PM.