Suspect Identified In U-Haul Truck Attack On Anti-Iranian Regime Protesters In LA

Officials identified the U-Haul truck driver who plowed into an anti-Iranian regime protest Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, possibly striking one person.

Protests erupted in Iran on Dec. 28, with demonstrators setting fires and burning mosques in opposition to the country’s Islamic government. In solidarity with those protests, hundreds gathered in Los Angeles’ Westwood neighborhood before a vehicle struck people marching along Veteran Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

“At approximately 1530 hours, the driver of a U-Haul truck collided with individuals marching along Veteran Avenue in the area of the Federal Building.  The driver (an adult male) has been detained pending further investigation into the incident,” the LAPD stated in an X post.

Officials confirmed shortly after their first statement that a male individual was struck, with no significant injuries reported. In a second Monday statement, however, the LAPD stated no one was hit by the U-Haul. The driver was identified Monday as 48-year-old Calor Madanescht, who was arrested and booked on suspicion of reckless driving with a $0 bail.

“A Rescue Ambulance treated the individual at the scene.  No one has been transported to the hospital for medical treatment,” the LAPD stated.