A man who drove a U-Haul truck into a group of people gathered in Los Angeles to protest the Iranian regime was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and has been released from custody on zero bail.
Calor Madanescht, 48, was released on his own recognizance just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 12 and faces a misdemeanor charge, according to Los Angeles County inmate records.
He is scheduled for a court appearance on Feb. 2, according to the county.
Los Angeles police officers were monitoring the demonstration on Jan. 11 at around 3:30 p.m. when the truck arrived on Veteran Avenue, according to the police department.
Demonstrators were seen on video scrambling to get out of the way as the truck sped down the road outside of a federal building in an area of Westwood called Little Tehran.
“Individuals from the crowd jumped out of the truck’s path of travel to avoid being struck,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. “Officers formed a skirmish line between the box truck and the crowd and took the driver into custody.”
A handmade sign attached to the side of the rental truck stated, “No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah,” and “No Prince.”
The signs made reference to the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the 1953 coup orchestrated by the United States and the United Kingdom that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Protesters surrounded the driver, opened the truck door and started to attack him. Video showed protesters trying to pull the driver out of the vehicle.
They also started ripping off the posters after the truck stopped in the street, according to police.
The U-Haul was searched and impounded. Police didn’t find anything significant inside, LAPD reported.
Detectives contacted possible victims of the incident, and none reported being struck.
The incident will be investigated by the department’s major crimes division and any findings will be forwarded to the city attorney’s office for consideration, according to LAPD.
A U-Haul truck plows into a crowd of protesters during a rally in support of Iran demonstrations in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2026, in a still from video. (@Shangoolans via X via Reuters/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
President Donald Trump signaled on Jan. 12 that he was weighing military options against Iran’s Islamic regime after days of violence in the country.
The regime threatened to strike Israeli and U.S. military bases if Washington attacks Iran. Protests and violent clashes between protesters and regime forces in the country remained strong in recent days in the largest wave of anti-government sentiment since 2022.
A U.S.-based human rights group, Human Rights Activists News Agency, said more than 500 protesters have died and around 10,600 people have been detained in Iran since protests erupted about two weeks ago. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization placed the death toll at 192.
