Antwon Rose Protesters Charged After Allegedly Assaulting Driver Downtown
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh police charged two men for allegedly attacking a driver during a downtown protest on Monday.
According to criminal complaints, two men -- Ahmad Abu Ibrahim of Monroeville and Jason Lamonte Nunley of Pittsburgh, both 38 -- were charged on Friday. Ibrahim is charged with simple assault and Nunley is charged with theft by unlawful taking.
Video evidence and witness testimony showed Ibrahim open the motorist's door and punch him with a closed fist and Nunley took the keys from the man's ignition and threw them in a sewer, according to Pittsburgh Public Information Officer Chris Togneri.
The victim stated that, during an Antwon Rose protest downtown, protesters started gathering around his truck on Third Avenue at Grant Street, hitting it repeatedly when he was attempting to enter the intersection on a green light. One person, alleged to be Nunley, opened the passenger door to try and turn the truck off. He then hit the victim's arm off of the shifter and took the keys. Then, another protester, alleged to be Ibrahim, punched the victim in the back of the head.
"Everybody was hitting the truck with fists," the victim wrote in his statement to police.
Police then removed the victim from the vehicle and escorted him onto the sidewalk before transporting him to the Centre Avenue station, where he was released.
One witness said the victim was trying to inch through the intersection on a green light when his vehicle was surrounded by the protesters.
A white male, who was wearing a blue shirt and tan shorts while dragging an American Flag, will be identified and charged with criminal mischief for damages sustained to the victim's truck, according to the criminal complaints.
The protesters were calling for justice for Antwon Rose II, who was fatally shot by East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld in June.
