Summary
At a Lafayette, Indiana anti-Trump rally Saturday, a man pulled an assault-style rifle after clashing with protesters who blocked his truck at a Third Street intersection.
Video shows the man in a MAGA hat yelling at protesters, prompting another man—angered by the confrontation with women—to intervene.
The two exchanged shouts before the protester headbutted the man. He returned to his truck, retrieved a rifle, and reentered the crowd.
Police detained but released him, citing self-defense. The “Hands Off!” rally drew nearly 1,000 people and ended early amid safety concerns.
Stand your ground laws have completely wrecked the premise surrounding threats and threat avoidance. Now it’s people being assholes and escalating the assholery until someone gets pissed and throws a punch and then the shooting starts. Doesn’t matter if it’s road rage or fighting over a parking space. No consideration that anyone involved could have walked away at any point before things got bad.
The duty to retreat and use a firearm as a last resort is dying a quick death in most red states. Even in NY where shooting someone in self defense was often a trip straight to jail now ends up with people not being charged.
Basically, you need to Han Solo the thing most times these days. Shoot first and you’re not guilty.