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Motorist pulls gun on Black Lives Matter protesters attacking his truck. They were blocking road, and he tossed smoke grenade at them, cops say.
Image source: WSAV-TV video screenshot

Motorist pulls gun on Black Lives Matter protesters attacking his truck. They were blocking road, and he tossed smoke grenade at them, cops say.

The motorist was charged

A motorist who was caught on video pulling a gun on protesters in downtown Savannah, Georgia, over the weekend was charged with aggravated assault, WSAV-TV reported.

What are the details?

Police told the station a few dozen protesters angry about the Breonna Taylor case were lying down in an intersection and blocking traffic around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Newsweek described them as "Black Lives Matter protesters" engaged in a "peaceful demonstration."

Video shows a dark pickup truck appearing to begin driving around the protesters — and then police told WSAV the driver tossed a smoke grenade at the group.

Image source: WSAV-TV video screenshot

The protesters immediately got up and began to scatter — but seconds later a few of them began kicking and throwing objects at the truck.

Image source: WSAV-TV video screenshot

At that point, police told the station that 34-year-old Frederick James opened the driver's side door armed with a gun and pointed it at the protesters. All of the remaining protesters except for one ran away.

Image source: WSAV-TV video screenshot

Here's the cellphone video of the incident recorded from what appears to be a resident on the street. After the protesters ran off, the motorist appeared to argue with observers on the sidewalk. A woman in the passenger seat opened her door and appeared to ask the driver to get back in the truck. Eventually he did and drove the truck away from the scene.

What happened to the motorist?

James was charged with aggravated assault and reckless conduct, WSAV reported.

Image source: Chatham County Detention Center

According to WTGS-TV, James is from Decatur.

Anything else?

District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo told WSAV the city is working with police to identify protest organizers. Palumbo added to the station that there was not a police presence during the demonstration since city officials didn't know about the protest.

On Sunday, protest organizer Kate Bender told WTOC-TV that she and a fellow organizer led a march after which about 15 people laid down in the intersection with the intention of doing so for eight minutes and 42 seconds, representing how how long former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd's neck.

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