Summary

At a Lafayette, Indiana anti-Trump rally Saturday, a man pulled an assault-style rifle after clashing with protesters who blocked his truck at a Third Street intersection.

Video shows the man in a MAGA hat yelling at protesters, prompting another man—angered by the confrontation with women—to intervene.

The two exchanged shouts before the protester headbutted the man. He returned to his truck, retrieved a rifle, and reentered the crowd.

Police detained but released him, citing self-defense. The “Hands Off!” rally drew nearly 1,000 people and ended early amid safety concerns.

  • ToadOfHypnosis@lemm.ee
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    10 days ago

    If you can leave the situation safely - like being able to go back to your truck - it’s not self defense.

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      10 days ago

      yup. as soon as he grabbed the gun and went back to threaten people with it… he committed the felony.

    • MBech@feddit.dk
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      10 days ago

      Doesn’t matter. They even determined that planning to get yourself in an unsafe situation with the purpose of shooting protesters, travelling across states with a gun to again very intentionally get yourself in a situation where you’d need to use it, is still self defense. Even when you shoot someone without actually being in danger, it becomes self defense when other people are trying to stop you. All of this, as long as your victims are protesting against right-wing policies, has been determined in court to be self defense.

      • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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        10 days ago

        I wonder if I could legally defend myself in this manner at one of the neo nazi rallies in Springfield or Charlottesville? Somehow I doubt the police would characterize it the same way.

    • barneypiccolo@lemm.ee
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      10 days ago

      Self-defense isn’t going back to your vehicle to get a weapon to come back and terrorize people. That’s assault.

      If he had returned with his weapon, and someone killed him, THAT would be self-defense.

  • Baphomet_The_Blasphemer@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Self-defense requires there to be an ongoing threat to your or someone else’s immediate safety. If he was able to leave the altercation, head to his truck to retrieve his rifle, and then return to the situation that’s not self-defense, its premeditation.

    • Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      I fucking love you guys. Like your head in a book being like awksuelly…

      Reality is that guy could have killed that protestor and charges would be dropped. If not, trump would pardon him. There are no consequences

      Stop trying to be correct. Just fucking win for a change. Being correct is not a win in today’s world. Way too many people that are wrong who keep winning.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Stand your ground laws have completely wrecked the premise surrounding threats and threat avoidance. Now it’s people being assholes and escalating the assholery until someone gets pissed and throws a punch and then the shooting starts. Doesn’t matter if it’s road rage or fighting over a parking space. No consideration that anyone involved could have walked away at any point before things got bad.

      The duty to retreat and use a firearm as a last resort is dying a quick death in most red states. Even in NY where shooting someone in self defense was often a trip straight to jail now ends up with people not being charged.

      Basically, you need to Han Solo the thing most times these days. Shoot first and you’re not guilty.

    • ubergeek@lemmy.today
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      9 days ago

      It’s self defense, because the cops are on the same side as the guy…

      Same reason you never see Miley Cyrus and Hanna Montana in the same room at the same time.

    • jared@mander.xyz
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      10 days ago

      He fucked around and found out most of them were exceedingly reasonable, except the one that busted his face 😊

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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      10 days ago

      Judging by the US rhetoric over the past few years … protestors of any side for any political movement, whether left or right, legitimate or not, moral or immoral … are figuring out that you need a gun to stand your ground.

      It would be easy to destabilize any protest by just drawing a gun … then someone else answers the challenge and pulls their own gun … then more people join in … next you have a Mexican stand off… and given enough occurrences you now have a fire fight.

      It’s so volatile because of the freedom to own guns.

      It’s like watching a group of people fighting with torches next to an open pool of gasoline.

  • Noxy@pawb.social
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    9 days ago

    I bet if someone drew a concealed pistol on him after he pulled out his rifle the cops would NOT consider it self defense.

    ACAB.

      • qarbone@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        He wasn’t. Because he didn’t kill that CEO. My man’s innocent.

        Whoever did happen to off that CEO certainly did everyone a favor tho

        • daepicgamerbro69@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          as far as i am concerned Thompson’s body just did that weird bullet thing 3 times in a row. Seems to be a latent condition in most billionaires.

          • MBech@feddit.dk
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            9 days ago

            Tonight at 11: Is being rich bad for your health? 99% of the population seem to think so, and it’s not why you think!

  • the_q@lemm.ee
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    10 days ago

    Self defense would be a headbutt back or fists, not the AmRepublican-14.

    • sunshine@lemmy.ml
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      10 days ago

      there’s video, no one was doing anything to him. he got out of his SUV, started yelling at people, returned to the vehicle, got back out with the weapon at his side. self defense would have been (a) for literally anyone to have threatened him and (b) for him to simply leave the scene.

      • Wilco@lemm.ee
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        9 days ago

        It is Indiana. Basically wild west style gun laws. You buy the gun, its yours … done. No permit, no concealed carry, nothing. You bought the gun, take it where you want. Pretty much anywhere. If people are yelling at you on the street then Indiana’s stand your ground style law basically kicks in. The state is very much “fuck around and find out”.

  • meco03211@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    So Indiana is a “stand your ground” state. That generally removes any duty to retreat. I’d be curious how they rule when he clearly retreated to his vehicle already, and only then retrieved a weapon, brandished it, and reentered a crowd. If they allow self defense, how far is someone allowed to retreat in order to retrieve a weapon and re-engage? Can I go all the way back to my house and get a gun to defend myself?

    Of course this will only be litigated if the public can pressure the prosecutor to press charges. If not it’ll be easy for the cops to disproportionately apply that defense to like minded miscreants.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      It removes your duty to retreat if you are in a life-threatening situation, whether on private or public property. It essentially extends the castle doctrine to include your personal space at all times.

      If after being headbutted, he pulled a CCW, or even had the AR on his person, I think he could make a reasonable claim of self defense. If the protestor followed him back to his truck, he could make a claim of self defense, but if you have the time and security to go back to your truck, get your gun, and the return to confront someone, I think you’ve gone outside the realm of being in a life-threatening situation, and therefore self-defense no longer applies.

      • meco03211@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        And I’d agree with that. But if it’s not settled in court, cops are allowed to pick and choose how they apply that.

  • PointyReality@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    What an actual POS, but do we really expect anything else from a Trump supporter. Clear as day he should not have been released citing any self-defence. Anyone who argues against this fact shows they should not even own a gun. US is going US though, not even dead kids can separate them from their guns.