Tanker truck plows into Minneapolis protesters

Tanker truck plows into Minneapolis protesters

A tanker truck drove into a throng of protesters on a closed interstate near Minneapolis on Sunday, with the driver pulled from his rig and beaten, amid another night of demonstrations against police brutality descending into violence.

Libby Hogan reports.

A tanker truck drove into thousands of protesters on a closed interstate freeway near Minneapolis on Sunday (May 31), one of the latest outbursts of violence among wider U.S. demonstrations against police brutality.

It did not appear that any demonstrators were struck by the truck as it moved through the crowd.

A Reuters witness and authorities said the driver was then pulled out of the cab and beaten by protesters, before the man was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The truck incident came before major U.S. cities imposed curfews in fear of the nationwide protests spiraling into violence as night fell.

The Minneapolis Department of Public Safety said on Twitter that video of the truck was "very disturbing" and they confirmed that the man was under arrest.

They also said the video showed the driver quote "inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators." Video showed the truck had a logo on its side for "Kenan Advantage Group," an Ohio-based transportation company.

The company said in a statement that it would be cooperating with investigating authorities.

The incident is being investigated as a criminal matter and marks the latest outburst of violence following what began as peaceful demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died last Monday after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.