The trucker who drove through a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis was once arrested for domestic assault
- Bogdan Vechirko, 35, was arrested on suspicion of assault after driving a semi-truck through a George Floyd march in Minneapolis on Sunday.
- Public records show that Vechirko has was convicted for disorderly conduct in late 2012.
- He was also charged with domestic violence over the same incident, but that charge was ultimately dropped.
- Donation records also show three contributions of around $100 since 2018: one to President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, and two more to the Republican Party.
The man who was arrested after driving a tanker truck through a crowd of George Floyd protesters in Minneapolis on Sunday has a previous arrest for domestic assault, public records show.
He has also made political donations to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Bogdan Vechirko, 35, was arrested on suspicion of assault after driving through a gathering of protesters marching on I-35W shortly before 6 p.m. yesterday.
On Tuesday, he was released from jail without being charged, but investigators are continuing to look into the case.
Vechirko's previous charges were listed on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website.
It shows that Vechirko was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a 911 call.
The three charges stem from an incident that happened on August 1, 2012.
A summary of the case on the website says that the domestic assault count included an "act to cause fear of immediate bodily harm or death."
In November of that year, Vechirko was convicted on the disorderly conduct count, and had the other two charges dismissed. He was given a 30-day sentence, which he carried out at the Hennepin County work house.
He was also convicted in 2009 for failing to wear a seatbelt and in January 2020 for failing to display the registration number on a snowmobile.
Political records also mention Vechirko.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that Vechirko donated $100 to President Trump's "Make America Great Again Committee" in October 2019.
Before that, he also made two donations to the Republican National Committee, one for $115 in October 2018, and another for $100 in August 2018.
There were no prior donations listed by the FEC.
- Read more:
- Video shows a tanker truck hitting a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis on the 6th night of protests over George Floyd's death
- The truck driver who sped through a crowd of George Floyd protesters has been named and booked on suspicion of assault
- A UFC champion took to the streets during the George Floyd protests to fight crime, making vandals surrender cans of spray paint