Driver Detained After Truck Plows Through Anti-Iran Protest in Los Angeles

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1015 EAT on Monday 12 January 2026

A truck driver was detained in Los Angeles on Sunday after speeding down a street crowded with demonstrators rallying in support of protesters in Iran, authorities said.

Marchers scrambled to get out of the way as a U-Haul box truck drove through the protest, striking one person. No serious injuries were reported, according to local police.

The truck was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police vehicles. Footage from a local news helicopter showed officers attempting to prevent demonstrators from attacking the driver after some protesters ran after the vehicle.
Police said the driver, who has not been identified, was detained pending further investigation.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said two people were evaluated by paramedics at the scene but declined further medical treatment.
Earlier, a large crowd of demonstrators gathered along Veteran Avenue in the Westwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles, marching in support of antigovernment protesters in Iran. Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.

Police initially allowed the demonstration to proceed before later issuing a dispersal order. By early evening, about 100 protesters remained in the area, according to local media.

Protests in Iran began on December 28, when merchants at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar closed their shops over the sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial. The unrest has since expanded beyond economic grievances into broader antigovernment demonstrations, marking the largest protests since the 2022–23 movement sparked by the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.

Rallies backing Iranian protesters have spread to major cities worldwide, including London, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin and Istanbul.

Iranian state media said on Sunday that 109 members of the security forces have been killed in the unrest. Officials have not provided an accounting of civilian deaths, while opposition groups operating outside Iran say hundreds of protesters have been killed.

-Aljazeera

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