Every state should have a Reginald Denny self-defense law
No one should face criminal liability for escaping a dangerous situation when trapped by violent "protesters."
Reginald Denny was pulled from his truck during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and was brutally beaten by rioters. He had more than 90 skull fractures after a rioter smashed a cinderblock over his head. The Los Angeles Times describes the extent of his injuries:
Denny’s left eye had dropped three-quarters of an inch behind the cheekbone, Toffel said. A piece of plastic the size of a quarter has to be used to hold the eyeball in place, he said. An emergency operation had to be performed to place a breathing tube in Denny’s throat because the trucker was in a coma and strangling on his tongue, Toffel said.
Now imagine if Denny had ran over the rioters trying to block his path, leaving broken bodies on the street while he drove to safety. All of the pain he suffered since then would have been prevented, and his family's grief, rage and fear would have been avoided as well. The images of a brutally beaten Reginald Denny, barely clinging to life after a shockingly brutal assault by mindless savages, should be at the forefront of our minds when we consider the basic human rights of motorists when they are surrounded by "protesters."
If "protesters" surround a vehicle and trap the driver, that driver has every legal right and the basic human right to defend his/her life by driving through (and over) the "protesters" to escape. If the "protesters" surrounding the vehicle are seriously injured or killed as a result of their threatening actions, the driver is not morally responsible for what happened. I have seen the Reginald Denny video from 1992. After 33 years, it is every bit as horrifying as it was back then. That is why it was absolutely right for Republican states to pass laws shielding escaping drivers from liability.
No, this is not "encouraging political violence." If someone intentionally rams protesters who are not accosting him, that driver should be prosecuted and, if convicted, punished to the fullest extent of the law. Obviously, if someone dies from an intentional unprovoked ramming, the death penalty must be imposed on the murderer. But once someone is surrounded and people have their bodies on his car, the Reginald Denny rule should apply: You can use whatever force is necessary, including lethal force, to escape the situation and preserve your life. Self-defense is a basic human right, and every state should protect that right.