2 arrests in hit-and-run at Southern California ‘No Kings’ protest

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Two people were arrested in connection with a hit-and-run crash at a weekend “No Kings” protest in Southern California that left a 21-year-old demonstrator seriously injured, authorities said.

The SUV veered toward marchers Saturday night in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, and struck the woman, according to investigators. She remained hospitalized in critical condition, the Riverside Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.

After a search aided by tips from the public, police arrested the suspected driver, a 58-year-old Riverside man, on Monday, the police statement said. He could face charges including assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run causing injury.

Also arrested was a 39-year-old Riverside woman suspected of taking the SUV into an unincorporated area of the Mojave Desert and “intentionally destroying and concealing evidence,” the statement said. She could face charges including accessory after the fact and destruction of evidence.

“No Kings” protests swept across the country on Saturday, and organizers said millions rallied against what they described as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian tendencies.

Confrontations were largely isolated. In Utah, a demonstrator was inadvertently fatally shot by a “safety volunteer” who was trying to stop an alleged gunman at the rally in Salt Lake City, according to police and organizers.

Outside the Arizona statehouse, a social media video showed protesters Saturday jeering at and then skirmishing with a masked man, who eventually pulled out a handgun, causing the crowd to scatter. Another video showed Arizona Department of Public Safety officers taking the man into custody.