A video of a driver placed in a chokehold by a Trump supporter after he crashed his vehicle into a MAGA protest in Santa Maria, California, is being widely circulated on social media.
The incident, which took place during a "Stop the Steal" demonstration moving through the city on Sunday afternoon, was filmed by Instagram user ab3anater after the driver, identified as 20-year-old Jacob Garza, drove his black BMW into a parade of Trump supporters, hitting one of their vehicles.
'Welcome to MAGA country'
The four-and-a-half-minute video shows Garza being held down by a crowd of Trump supporters, one of whom puts the man in a chokehold while others shouted obscenities at him.
At one point, one of the supporters can be heard yelling, "'Welcome to MAGA country, mother**ker" to Garza while he is pinned down by a Trump supporter, struggling to break free. A bystander then asks the man to allow Garza to breathe before police arrive on the scene. The video ends with a glimpse of the wreckage, which shows Garza's BMW and an overturned truck on the side of the road.
According to local news, Garza drove straight through the truck drivers and threw a bottle at the crowd before crashing into another vehicle. One of the passengers inside the vehicle suffered a fractured arm and was taken along with another passenger for treatment to a nearby hospital.
Garza was given a misdemeanor citation for reckless driving causing injury, according to police. However, the events that led to the crash are not yet known.
"It's hard to tell what happened first," Santa Maria Police Sgt. Nate Totorica told the Santa Maria Times. "Some witnesses suggest he tried to run and some people grabbed a hold of him. It's hard to tell what's self-defense."
Garza Claims He Was a Victim of a 'Hate Crime'
Garza has now apparently set up a GoFundMe page seeking $10,000 in donations to cover legal and medical expenses in the wake of the crash. In the description for the fundraiser, Garza wrote that he "was a victim of a hate crime by Trump Supporters."
"I was targeted and attacked in the midst of a Trump rally for simply being gay. I was followed and harassed which ultimately led to a multi-car accident while trying to escape. I was dragged, degraded, and assaulted until police arrived on scene." As of late Tuesday morning, Garza had already raised $1906 towards his intended goal.
