A Brief History of Vehicular Violence

Last week, we talked about one particular incident of vehicular violence on protesters. But where does the tactic come from? Who is doing it? And why?

Sources:
Miller, Vincent, and Keith J. Hayward. “‘I DID MY BIT’: TERRORISM, TARDE AND THE VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK AS AN IMITATIVE EVENT.” The British Journal of Criminology, vol. 59, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1–23. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26780645. Accessed 16 June 2025.

Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth, Smashing into Crowds: An Analysis of Vehicle Ramming Attacks. San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute, 2019
https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/SP-1119-Vehicle-Ramming-Attacks.pdf

Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth, Metal Against Marchers. San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute, 2020
https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/SP1020-Metal-Against-Marchers.pdf

Gabriel Nowacki & Cezary Krysiuk & Damian Szafranek, 2025. "Vehicle Ramming as a Form of Terrorist Attack Threatening Public Safety," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 707-722.

Simon Perry, Badi Hasisi & Gali Perry (2018) Who is the Lone Terrorist? A Study of Vehicle-Borne Attackers in Israel and the West Bank, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism,
41:11, 899-913, DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2017.1348101

Pierce, Kelvin. Sins of My Father, Growing Up with America's Most Dangerous White Supremacist. Independently Published, 2020

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Vehicle_Incident_Prevention_and_Mitigation_Security_Guide_508_20240418.pdf

https://www.al.com/news/2025/06/stand-your-ground-on-steroids-debate-emerges-over-drivers-hitting-protesters-in-alabama.html

https://local21news.com/news/local/adams-county-community-reacts-to-sheriffs-controversial-facebook-post-about-protestors

https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/pedestrians

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2331

https://cwa-union.org/news/strike-line-remembering-gerry-horgan

https://sfist.com/2025/03/10/truck-seems-to-drive-into-striking-vta-workers-on-picket-line-one-hospitalized/

https://komonews.com/amp/news/local/king-county-detective-on-leave-after-alleged-all-lives-splatter-facebook-post

https://www.abc12.com/news/crime/flint-man-who-hit-striking-uaw-members-pleads-guilty/article_b007099a-bf9a-11ee-9de4-0bfd68db8786.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1929/06/16/archives/federal-arms-barred-secretary-good-warns-governor-on-use-of.html

https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/15/media/daily-caller-fox-news-video-car-crashing-liberal-protesters/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/world/europe/uk-van-attack-london-mosque.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/alek-minassian-toronto-van-attack-incels-891678/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-17/man-arrested-hit-and-run-no-kings-protester-riverside

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