A man has been arrested in Ireland after using his vehicle to run down protesters at an anti-immigration rally in Dublin.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening at approximately 7.30 p.m. during a protest taking place around Seville Place.
Video footage from the time of the incident showed the peaceful protest interrupted by screams as a vehicle is seen driving into a protester at the back of the rally before driving off at full speed.
Two victims, a man and a woman, were hurt in the collision and have been hospitalized with injuries not thought to be life-threatening.
A man in his 30s was arrested in connection with the incident. He was held by Irish authorities at a police station in north Dublin on Wednesday evening and was due in court on Thursday morning.
It is understood the driver of the vehicle had been present at the rally, which had started at 1 p.m. and had been remonstrating with the protesters, chanting “Out, out, out. Racists out!”
The Irish Examiner newspaper reported the man arrested is known to the organizers of the protest and has attempted to disrupt multiple previous events.
The attacker live streamed the incident, which showed him collide with a male protester who was rammed by the vehicle before the driver took off at full speed.
An initial statement from Ireland’s police force read: “Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances surrounding a road traffic collision that occurred in Seville Place, Dublin 1 this evening Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.
“One male was taken to hospital. A male (aged in his 30s) was arrested and is currently detained in a Garda station in North Dublin.”
A follow-up statement confirmed a female had also been taken to the hospital for her injuries.
“A male (aged in his 30s) was arrested at the scene. He has since been charged and is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice at 10:30 a.m. this morning, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023,” the police added.
Hermann Kelly, the leader of the Irish Freedom Party, which opposes the Irish government’s current asylum policy called the incident “an act of political terrorism egged on by the Far-Left No Borders mob.”
The party released a statement that called the attack “predictable” and criticized high-ranking government officials for “inciting hatred against ordinary working-class people. They are a disgrace.”
