this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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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.

(page 2) 50 comments
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[–] [email protected] 336 points 1 week ago (5 children)

If you can leave the situation safely - like being able to go back to your truck - it’s not self defense.

[–] [email protected] 225 points 1 week ago (2 children)

yup. as soon as he grabbed the gun and went back to threaten people with it.. he committed the felony.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Louder. For the people in the back.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Fat fuck wants to be another Rittenhouse

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Tell that to the police...

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago

They are too busy ~~fabricating~~... ~~planting~~... finding the evidence they need to arrest some protestors.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Doesn't matter. They even determined that planning to get yourself in an unsafe situation with the purpose of shooting protesters, travelling across states with a gun to again very intentionally get yourself in a situation where you'd need to use it, is still self defense. Even when you shoot someone without actually being in danger, it becomes self defense when other people are trying to stop you. All of this, as long as your victims are protesting against right-wing policies, has been determined in court to be self defense.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago

Only if you're white and conservative.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago

I wonder if I could legally defend myself in this manner at one of the neo nazi rallies in Springfield or Charlottesville? Somehow I doubt the police would characterize it the same way.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Self-defense isn't going back to your vehicle to get a weapon to come back and terrorize people. That's assault.

If he had returned with his weapon, and someone killed him, THAT would be self-defense.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 week ago

Exactly. It's obvious who the cops were siding with here.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago (2 children)

But what about pre-emptive self defense? That's a thing, right?

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago

You don't understand, your honor, I know I was gonna say something that would make them threaten my life! I had to start shooting.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

It'll get you on a talk show circuit

[–] [email protected] 120 points 1 week ago (8 children)

How does going back to your vehicle and retrieving a n assault rifle count as self defense? That's premeditated at that point if he were to use it.

The difference between this, and any other mass shooting is just whether this guy decided to pull the trigger, which he obviously wanted too.

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[–] [email protected] 99 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Inserts himself into a situation he wasn’t invited to, or welcome at, instigates people for the purpose of “justified” retaliation- whips out his loaded lib-killer , and is summarily released by law enforcement.

I’d say those folks dun’ got Rittenhoused!

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I agree with you. That's not how "self-defense works". If the snowflake geot hit, walks away from the situation, gets armed, and returns to attack the person that attacked such a fragile sheep, this is not self-defense, it's retaliation.

The sheep crybaby and whoever proclaimed this as self-defense are just a bunch of puppets.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Why does it feel like he was a failed attempt at inciting violence in protests to make them look unreasonable?

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago (2 children)

He fucked around and found out most of them were exceedingly reasonable, except the one that busted his face 😊

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 week ago

Looks like he slipped

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago

Well I mean it was a reasonable breakage of said face, since y'know... Nazi.. but your point is valid

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Can we use an animal where that’s actually true? Crabs are very much intersexual, which isn’t quite the same thing as bisexual.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (2 children)

So Indiana is a "stand your ground" state. That generally removes any duty to retreat. I'd be curious how they rule when he clearly retreated to his vehicle already, and only then retrieved a weapon, brandished it, and reentered a crowd. If they allow self defense, how far is someone allowed to retreat in order to retrieve a weapon and re-engage? Can I go all the way back to my house and get a gun to defend myself?

Of course this will only be litigated if the public can pressure the prosecutor to press charges. If not it'll be easy for the cops to disproportionately apply that defense to like minded miscreants.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago

This is what we're up against.

I'll be damned if I let these people continue to run our country

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago (5 children)

It shocks me every time again, seeing how casually people carry guns in the US

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Wonder if the boots taste different in Indiana...

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

the boot type is also accurate, this is well done

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago

What an actual POS, but do we really expect anything else from a Trump supporter. Clear as day he should not have been released citing any self-defence. Anyone who argues against this fact shows they should not even own a gun. US is going US though, not even dead kids can separate them from their guns.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

The shape of things to come.

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