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Man who brought bow and arrow to Utah protest charged

Posted at 7:16 PM, Jun 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-04 19:16:30-04

The man who brandished a bow and arrow during a protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday has been formally charged.

Brandon McCormick is charged with two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, one count of aggravated assault and one count of threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel, a news release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office said.

Police have said McCormick's case is a priority .

A confrontation involving McCormick began after he drove his car into a crowd and yelled "All lives matter!"

He then opened the back seat of his car and pulled out a bow and arrow and pointed it at several people.

At that point, other demonstrators rushed McCormick, tackled him and ultimately set his car on fire.

Instead of arresting McCormick, police escorted him to a safe area, treated him for some of his injuries and released him.

Chief Mike Brown addressed the situation in a Sunday news conference.

"The man with the bow and arrow was pulled from the crowd by officers as he was being assaulted," Brown said. "Law enforcement's first concern was life-saving, it was only later through the media inquiries and shared footage that we were able to identify him and a series of events that preceded."

This article was written by David Wells and Adam Herbets for KSTU.