Editor’s note: This article has been edited with the correct spelling of the D.C. police spokesperson’s name and to clarify that suspects are unknown at this time.
D.C. police are looking into claims that participants in the trucker convoy assaulted a motorcyclist in the District last week.
The encounter reportedly happened as an Alexandria, Virginia, man was traveling on Interstate 395 on the Francis Case Memorial Bridge back on Wednesday, March 16 after 3 p.m.
Logan, who asked to be identified by his first name only, told WTOP that he was on his motorcycle when he hit the traffic that ensued as police shut down the road’s offramps in preparation for the convoy’s drive through D.C. Logan works as a property manager and is a Marine reservist.
“Out of frustration and anger, I joined in with the majority of the rest of the other folks in traffic in flipping off the truckers as I passed by,” Logan said.
He then said that after that exchange, one of the convoy participants tried to open the vehicle’s door and hit him, something he said he didn’t take lightly.
“I pulled between his truck and the truck in front of him, in the trucker convoy, and I continued to flip them off,” he said.
Since traffic was at a standstill, Logan said he decided to turn off his motorcycle. Then, the truck drivers ahead of him and behind him got out, and there were words exchanged, Logan said.
“We yell, that’s it. I continued to just ignore them at this point, and flip them both off. We still couldn’t go anywhere,” he said.
WTOP has contacted the organizers of the demonstration, but has not received a response.
In a video of the convoy traveling through D.C. on that day, YouTube user Sasnak’s livestream from the cab of his tractor trailer captured others participants talking about the incident over a radio system.
At one point an unidentified convoy participant could be heard saying, “He brake-checked me, and I almost hit him; it was close.”
Another claimed a motorcyclist laid down his motorcycle in front of a truck, something Logan refutes.
According to him, during the heated exchange, other convoy participants came to the area.
“At that point, I was encircled. I was still on my motorcycle sitting on it with it off,” Logan said.
This is when Logan claimed that one of the convoy participants took the keys out of his motorcycle.
“He grabs my key out of my ignition, and I basically, as soon as he did that, I grabbed for him because I wanted my property back, and since my arm was outreached, they grabbed me and pulled me off the motorcycle, dropping the motorcycle,” he said.
Logan said he recalls being held to the ground.
“They pinned me to the ground, and every time I tried to get back up, they would pin me back and slam me, so my head got slammed into the ground several times,” he said.
During the encounter, he said he repeatedly told the men holding him down to stop.
“I told them this is assault; you’re assaulting a veteran and one of them replied, ‘I’m a veteran too, and I don’t give a f***,’” Logan said.
Logan said he tried to call 911, but before the call came through, D.C. police officers on motorcycles arrived on the scene. Someone else had also called them, police said.
Before police officers arrived, Logan said the men who put their hands on him left the area and only the driver of the truck in front of him and behind him remained on the scene. Those two drivers, according to Logan, did not participate in the alleged assault.
Logan said he declined medical attention, but he had scratches and bruising from the encounter.
The police report on the incident revealed few details — only saying Logan was on the Case bridge when he told police he was assaulted by two “unknown suspects.”
Brianna Burch, with D.C. police, said the suspects are unknown at this time. Burch said investigators are looking into whether participants of the demonstration were involved, and the case continues to be an “open and active” investigation.
WTOP has requested statements given by some of the convoy participants to police. D.C. police declined the request.
As of Thursday night, D.C. police said there haven’t been any arrests made or charges filed in the case.
While the alleged altercation was not caught on the livestream, in the YouTube stream from a convoy participant, participants on the radio could be heard talking about what was taking place. Some of the individuals speaking could be heard reminding participants that D.C. has many cameras.
“There’s a lot of cameras out here; they’re everywhere. The city’s got more cameras than anywhere else in the world probably,” one voice on the radio could be heard saying.
Another voice tells those involved to call 911 so police can respond to the scene.
Also during the stream, one unidentified voice said, “If you look down the right side, there is somebody down on their knees there, and it looks like they’ve got someone down. Is there anybody who can confirm?”
One radio user said they hoped that a photographer in the area captured what took place.
Another voice could be heard during the stream saying, “Oh wow, I see them dragging the bike.”
Logan said some of the people involved moved his motorcycle from in front of the tractor trailers, causing damage to the bike.
The YouTube stream did show two D.C. police officers responding and several minutes later, the two officers can be seen escorting Logan off the bridge.
As the radio chatter on the stream turned to the convoy moving once again, one participant could be heard describing what took place.
“Here’s the deal, we got the key out of the bike, he lunged at the driver, so we took him down,” the unidentified voice said.
That was followed by one participant saying, “Awesome” and another saying, “He’s the aggressor,” though it’s unclear who is being referred to.
That was followed by another participant discussing his interactions with Logan.
“Then he got in [unintelligible audio] face, it’s not like he was gonna hit her, then he got in my face, and I never touched him, and that’s where it all got out of control,” the voice on the radio said.
Logan said he hopes telling his story will get the attention of drivers who drove by during what happened. He believes some motorists recorded with their phones, and he encouraged those individuals to send what they captured to police.
