Oklahoma Signs Bill Protecting Drivers Who Kill or Injure Protesters

The U. S. state of Oklahoma recently signed into law a bill that gives legal protection to drivers who “unintentionally” kill or injure protesters if they are fleeing the scene of a protest. House Bill 1674 passed with overwhelming Republican support. The law also makes it a misdemeanor to obstruct a roadway. The new law is thought to be created in response to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 in reaction to the death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minn.

One such protest occurred in Tulsa, Okla. where a man driving a truck attempted to drive through the protestors. “He put his gun on the dashboard of his car and told everyone, ‘You get out of my way,’” one of the organizers of the protest said to an AP reporter at the time. Several people were injured and the driver was not stopped at the scene. When he was stopped some time later, the police let him go without charging him.