Mecklenburg-Vorpommern District

White woman charged with allegedly driving against two black protesters

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A white woman was arrested for allegedly running into two black women who were peacefully protesting the police murder of Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where Brown was killed.

Lisa Michelle O’Quinn, 41, has since been charged with double assault with a lethal weapon with intent to kill by using a motor vehicle, negligent and reckless behavior charges, and unsafe movement charges since NBC News. The authorities are also examining whether it is a hate crime.

The two women O’Quinn met with, Michelle Fleming Morris and Valerie Lindsey, were rushed to hospital, treated for non-life threatening injuries, and released. The couple were among a group of people who wanted transparency about Brown’s death Monday night.

A video on Twitter shows O’Quinn’s car attacking women.

“The police are currently investigating this matter and we will be providing facts and findings on this case to include potentially aggravating factors for criminal improvement for potential hate crime conviction purposes related to this event,” Elizabeth City police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Around the time the incident happened, police tweeted about the demonstrations taking place.

O’Quinn is being held in a local jail on a $ 40,000 bond and is due to appear in court for the first time Thursday.

Brown was fatally shot five times on April 21. His death caught national attention and came less than 24 hours after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. Just last week Elizabeth City District Attorney Andrew Womble said the shooting by an official was legitimate and no charges are being brought against the three MPs who were involved in the incident.

After a year of police brutality demonstrations swept across the country, Republicans have begun targeting the protest with new laws – and one specific measure concerns, worryingly, vehicles. Oklahoma recently signed law that “a driver who accidentally causes injury or death to a person has no criminal or civil liability” if the injury or death occurs while “fleeing a riot”. Florida and Iowa are also trying to get similar laws signed.

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