A pickup truck has plowed into pro-choice protesters in Iowa as demonstrations turned violent after the Supreme Court's bombshell Roe v Wade ruling.
The black vehicle drove through the group of activists in Cedar Rapids despite them screaming at it to stop and hammering the hood and window.One appeared to get caught in front of it and narrowly avoided being run over before the driver sped off during the shocking exchange on Friday night.
Another had her foot run over and was left howling in pain. And a third was flung to the floor as he drove away, suffering bruises and scrapes.
It comes as tens of thousands descended on streets across the US amid mixed reactions at the Supreme Court tearing up Roe v Wade and handing the rights to abortions back to states after nearly 50 years.
Furious pro-choice demonstrators took to the streets in cities including Washington DC, Phoenix, New York City and Los Angeles as they begged the Biden administration to find a way to overrule the decision.
A group was spotted burning the flag of the United States in the capital while others gathered outside Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' home.
In Arizona, cops were forced to fire tear gas at protestors after they appeared to breach the State Senate building in Phoenix, with staff evacuated but no one reported to have been injured.
And at least 25 were arrested in New York City after around 17,000 descended on Washington Square Park before marching through the streets to Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Bryant Park.
They also stopped outside News Corp headquarters - home to Fox News and The New York Post - and yelled 'Burn it down! Burn it down! F–k Tucker Carlson!' Vandals also sprayed 'F*** Fox' on the side of the building.
Meanwhile pro-life protesters also amassed nationwide, some breaking down in tears as they celebrated the immediate end of abortions in 18 states.
The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shredded five decades of constitutional protections.
The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision enshrining a woman's right to an abortion, saying individual states can restrict or ban the procedure themselves. Alexis Russell, 30, saw the man driving his pickup into the crowd, and ran over to urge him to stop. 'I was standing on a sidewalk facing the road,' she told DailyMail.com. 'So as soon as I saw it I didn't even hesitate.'
In the footage, Russell, in her white t-shirt and jeans, with long black hair, can be seen trying desperately to get the driver to stop, as two people are shunted along the road on the hood of his car.
'I ran over there, tried to grab the steering wheel,' she said. 'I was like - what the hell are you doing? You are literally hurting these people.
'They are doing nothing. 'He grabbed my sign through the window and ripped it. I reached in for the steering wheel, and he grabbed my sign, but didn't hold onto it so I have both pieces.'
Up until that point, Russell said the march of 300-400 people had been peaceful - although many other motorists in staunchly-Republican Iowa had 'flipped us off' as they drove past.
Stacey Walker, 34, a local politician who sits on the board of Linn County Board of Supervisors, told DailyMail.com that the march had been 'pretty uneventful' as it wound through the city past main landmarks, and drew to a close.
He said there had been some hecklers, but nothing out of the ordinary. He then became aware of the commotion, and saw an aide from his office being pushed along the road - one of two people being shunted by the pickup truck.
Walker sprinted to the car, and in social media videos can be seen yelling at the driver. It was pretty evident the driver didn't intend to stop,' Walker said. 'I'm guessing this gentleman did not agree with what we were doing.'All I could think about was getting her out the way. It looks like there were two people in front.'
Both Walker and Russell said there was definitely an adult in the passenger seat. Walker said he believes there was a younger person - a child or teenager - in the back of the pickup.
As Russell jogged alongside the pickup truck, tussling with the driver, he refused to slow down. 'He was yelling at me, but I don't recall what,' she said.
'He looked at me, and kept going. He was trying to swat me away. It was a bit of a slap fight. He didn't hit me in the face or anything.
'The people by then in front of the car had their arms stretched out, running backwards, and I could jog-walk alongside.
'When the two people in front moved out the way he sped up, and I fell away.' Russell, who works in the grocery industry, said that she thinks he intended to hurt her as he sped off.
She described him as 'a gray-haired white male dude, probably in his 50s or 60s.' 'I think me being there - a woman, standing up for my rights, agitated him more,' she said.
'I think he wanted to hurt me when he sped off.' Russell said she was 'kind of beat up, but it's not bad.' She added: 'I landed on my butt, and it really hurts, and my lower back. My inner thighs, and hamstring.
'There was another girl alongside of me - I didn't know her - her foot got run over. She was traumatized.
'She declined an ambulance. But she couldn't put weight on it, she was balling. Someone - her boyfriend or husband I think - came over and they got into a car.'
Walker said he believes that four people in total were injured - Russell, the woman whose foot was run over, and two more.
'One of them was pretty banged up,' he said. 'But worried the cost of accessing medical attention, so she just went home.'
Russell said he appeared out of nowhere, and Walker agreed that he had not seen the vehicle before. 'I didn't recognize him from flipping us off - but then, there were so many people flipping us off,' she said.
'Others drove really slow and close to us. But then we had supporters honking and cheering. What was the catalyst that made him go crazy and drive into two or three protesters? I don't know.'
Asked what she would say to him if she came face to face, she replied: 'Where did you have to be that was so important to drive through a crowd of innocent pedestrians walking at a crosswalk? Who's pro-life now?'
She said she wants him to be identified and denounced. 'I think that being shamed in public would be better than any prosecution.
'You should be ashamed of yourself. Because someone has a different opinion than you, you think it's OK to run someone over? It's crazy.'
As night fell, peaceful protests were becoming more tense, with standoffs in Washington DC, Arizona and Los Angeles.
