A California motorcyclist appeared to intentionally accelerate into a crowd of protesters outside an Amazon warehouse, injuring two demonstrators and landing himself in jail, authorities said.
The incident unfolded around 10:28 a.m. Wednesday, outside a distribution warehouse in the 20,000 block of Krameria Avenue in the unincorporated Riverside area, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Multiple callers reported an altercation, including one who told deputies a motorcyclist had driven into the crowd and struck two people.
When deputies from the Perris Sheriff’s Station arrived, they found three injured people.
All three were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
Investigators determined the rider — identified as Jesus Salcido Perez, 40, of Perris — had intentionally accelerated his motorcycle into the group, according to authorities.
Perez was later released from the hospital and booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
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The two people struck by the motorcycle appeared to suffer minor injuries, according to Robert Gonzalez, a spokesman for Teamsters Local 1932 who was at the protest.
Neither victim was an Amazon employee, Gonzalez said.
Both were local union members supporting warehouse workers.
The protest was part of an organized walkout at Amazon’s DJT6 warehouse over demands for better pay and working conditions, according to the union.
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The Teamsters also accused Amazon of illegally retaliating against workers who sought to improve conditions on the job.
Gonzalez said several hundred people had been picketing when the walkout began, with several dozen still demonstrating when the motorcycle barreled into the crowd.
Amazon confirmed it knew about the incident outside the facility.
An Amazon spokesman told the LA Times they are “aware of an incident outside our DJT6 facility in Riverside,” saying it happened “during an unlawful Teamsters demonstration.”
Amazon separately rejected the union’s retaliation claims in a statement to the Press-Enterprise, saying the company already provides “much of what the Teamsters are requesting.”
Gonzalez said union members had made an effort to keep the demonstration within the law.
“Safety is always our utmost priority,” he said. “This was just an unfortunate situation.”
The sheriff’s office said the investigation remains ongoing and that no further information was available.
