A 55-year-old Montana woman was arrested for allegedly crashing her car into a rally by a New York-based Black Hebrew group in the Treasure State over the weekend, injuring one protester.
Genevienne Rancuret was charged with driving while intoxicated and felony assault after Billings police said she repeatedly drove her car into a gathering of Israel United in Christ members on the sidewalk shortly after 12:30 p.m. of Saturday.
“I just saw this white Jeep fly past me and jump onto the sidewalk, right into the group of people that were there,” Jamee Wagenmann, an eyewitness to the shocking vehicular attack, told KTVQ-News. “The first thing I thought was that they had lost control and were devastated.”
But Wagenmann said the vehicle then veered “into the Albertsons parking lot and then headed directly toward them from behind, as if trying to catch them without paying attention.
“Screaming. Even cars were honking. It was chaos,” he said.
Local police said they are still trying to figure out what sparked the four-wheeler assault.
Genevienne Rancuret, 55, was charged with assault and drunk driving after allegedly driving her Jeep into a gathering of Black Israelites several times in Montana on Saturday and driving off. She was arrested in Billings two hours later. Yellowstone County
“It seems like what they were saying struck a chord with him and he decided to act,” Lt. Matt Lennick, a spokesman for the Billings Police Department, told the Post on Monday.
“I didn’t see anything that indicated this was a long-term plan or anything like that. We didn’t even know they were coming,” she said. “She was in that area at the same time as them and this escalated.”
Police said Rancuret drove from the scene, but two hours later police stopped him and charged him.
The department said in a news release posted on Facebook that she was charged with a total of eight counts of felony assault with a weapon, involving vehicle, driving under the influence and criminal mischief.
The suspect was ordered detained at the Yellowstone County Detention Center following the incident.
Police said Genevienne Rancuret, 55, tried to shoot down a group of black Israelites at this Montana intersection on Saturday. google maps
Billings police said the FBI is also reviewing the incident as a possible bias crime.
Police identified the religious group as the Black Hebrew Group, listed online as based in Mount Vernon, New York. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Black Hebrews believe that they are the legitimate direct descendants of the ancient Israelites.
The Anti-Defamation League lists Israel United Under Christ as an extremist group in the movement that was founded in 2003 as a splinter group from the Israeli School of Universal Practical Knowledge.
It is unclear why the protesters were in Montana.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn