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WESTWOOD, LOS ANGELES () — Chaos erupted after a U-Haul drove into a crowd during an anti-Iranian regime rally near the federal building in Westwood on Sunday afternoon.
As AIR7 arrived at the scene shortly before 3:30 p.m., a large group of people was seen surrounding the U-Haul on Veteran Avenue. Some protesters were seen smashing windows, with tensions quickly escalating.
Eventually, the crowd pulled a man from the U-Haul, and law enforcement took him into custody. As police walked the man away, some protesters were seen trying to punch him and hit him with flag poles.
Eyewitness News later learned that the man drove the U-Haul into the crowd during the planned protest. Video from the ground shows the moment he drove through, angering the crowd.
The video shows the side of the U-Haul says, “NO SHAH. NO REGIME. USA: DON’T REPEAT 1953. NO MULLAH.” It appeared the protesters ripped several signs off of the U-Haul.
Los Angeles police were at the scene, working to control the crowd.
LAPD said an adult male was injured and treated at the scene. No significant injuries were reported.
LAPD eventually issued a dispersal order, and shortly before 5 p.m., the large crowd was much smaller, with only about 100 protesters still at the scene.
After the chaos settled, the U-Haul was seen stopped in the area, surrounded by shattered glass, debris and crime scene tape.
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, officials said the driver was being treated in the hospital for injuries and will likely face attempted assault with a deadly weapon charges.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
SEE ALSO: Death toll in crackdown on protests in Iran spikes to at least 538, activists say
Nationwide protests in Iran, sparked by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy, are putting new pressure on its theocracy as it has shut down the internet and telephone networks.
Tehran is still reeling from a 12-day war launched by Israel in June that saw the United States bomb nuclear sites in Iran. Economic pressure, which has intensified since September when the United Nations reimposed sanctions on the country over its atomic program, has sent Iran’s rial currency into a free fall, now trading at over 1.4 million to $1.
Meanwhile, Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” – a coalition of countries and militant groups backed by Tehran – has been decimated since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
A threat by U.S. President Donald Trump warning Iran that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the U.S. “will come to their rescue,” has taken on new meaning after American troops captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran.
“We’re watching it very closely,” Trump has warned. “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.”
The collapse of the rial has led to a widening economic crisis in Iran. Prices are up on meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. The nation has been struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40%.
In December, Iran introduced a new pricing tier for its nationally subsidized gasoline, raising the price of some of the world’s cheapest gas and further pressuring the population. Tehran may seek steeper price increases in the future, as the government now will review prices every three months. Meanwhile, food prices are expected to spike after Iran’s Central Bank in recent days ended a preferential, subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for all products except medicine and wheat.
The protests began in late December with merchants in Tehran before spreading. While initially focused on economic issues, the demonstrations soon saw protesters chanting anti-government statements as well. Anger has been simmering over the years, particularly after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, that triggered nationwide demonstrations.
Some have chanted in support of Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has called for protests.
More than 570 protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported early Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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