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, 2019https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/SP-1119-Vehicle-Ramming-Attacks.pdfBrian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth, Metal Against Marchers. San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute, 2020https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/SP1020-Metal-Against-Marchers.pdfGabriel 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.2017.1348101Pierce, Kelvin. Sins of My Father, Growing Up with America's Most Dangerous White Supremacist. Independently Published, 2020https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Vehicle_Incident_Prevention_and_Mitigation_Security_Guide_508_20240418.pdfhttps://www.al.com/news/2025/06/stand-your-ground-on-steroids-debate-emerges-over-drivers-hitting-protesters-in-alabama.htmlhttps://local21news.com/news/local/adams-county-community-reacts-to-sheriffs-controversial-facebook-post-about-protestorshttps://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/pedestrianshttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2331https://cwa-union.org/news/strike-line-remembering-gerry-horganhttps://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.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/1929/06/16/archives/federal-arms-barred-secretary-good-warns-governor-on-use-of.htmlhttps://money.cnn.com/2017/08/15/media/daily-caller-fox-news-video-car-crashing-liberal-protesters/index.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/world/europe/uk-van-attack-london-mosque.htmlhttps://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-riversidehttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14915697/united-states-v-henry/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Weird Little Guys is a weekly show about the worst people you’ve never heard of, taking you beyond the headlines to get to know the race warriors and aspiring terrorists trying to unravel the fabric of our society. Weaving together the origin stories of modern American white supremacist groups and the crimes that land their members in court, independent journalist Molly Conger exposes the monsters for what they really are - some weird guy. Whether they’re conspiring to build bombs or serving swastika shaped cookies at a dinner party, the weird little guys trying to destroy America are a little less scary with their masks off.