West Palm Beach resident Andrew Dutil, 44, is facing aggravated assault charges after driving his SUV into a crowd of protestors gathered at a Tesla dealership on March 22. Mark Beaument was one of those participating in the demonstration when Dutil accelerated onto the sidewalk, scattering the crowd.
When Dutil got exited the car, he claimed he lost control and warned the protesters not to touch the vehicle. While no one was hit, Beaument’s daughter feared for her life, saying he appeared to be driving straight at her.
Dutil went into the dealership while people called 911. But after a brief attempt to flee, he was apprehended by deputies. Witnesses said he had earlier driven by the protesters, shouting at them before swerving his SUV onto the curb. Beaument and his group, the Palm Beach Indivisibles, were protesting Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the federal government and emphasized that they were exercising their First Amendment rights.
“We’re all Americans and we’re just exercising our First Amendment rights to say we’re not happy with what’s going on,” said Beaument.
Beaument later reflected that while the situation could have been much worse, Dutil’s actions appeared to be more of a reckless stunt than an intentional attempt to cause harm. He pointed out that if he had truly intended to injure anyone, it would have been easy to do so, as he had the means to drive directly into the crowd.
Despite the tension of the moment, Beaument emphasized that the protesters were simply standing up for their beliefs and voicing their concerns in a peaceful manner, never expecting such an aggressive encounter.
