North Carolina judge accused of almost hitting Black Lives Matter protesters with his car – ABC News
The judge is charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.
May 18, 2021, 6:03 PM
4 min read
A North Carolina judge has been charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly almost hitting Black Lives Matter protesters with his car.
In a video of the May 7 incident released by police, an SUV reportedly driven by North Carolina Appeals Court Judge John M. Tyson appears to drive around a traffic circle past protesters, then move into the innermost lane of the circle near where protesters are standing and drive past them again.
The inner lane is painted with a mural that reads Black Lives Do Matter. End Racism Now. The lane is not open for traffic, according to local law enforcement officials.
Surveillance video released by police shows an SUV driving around a traffic circle in Fayetteville, N.C., just before passing close to a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, May 7, 2021. Law enforcement officials said that lane is not currently open for traffic.
According to The Fayetteville Observer, Myah Warren, a demonstrator at the scene, swore before a Cumberland County magistrate that Tyson nearly hit protesters with his car.
A court summons has been issued, the court confirmed, and court records show Tysons court date is June 21. Hell need to appear in court to answer to the charge.
Tyson told the local newspaper that he called 911 to report people blocking traffic, claiming that protesters were gathering around his car.
The surveillance footage does not appear to show exactly how close the SUV came to protesters or any demonstrators surrounding Tyson's car.
Surveillance video released by police shows an SUV driving around a traffic circle in Fayetteville, N.C., passing close to a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, May 7, 2021. Law enforcement officials said that lane is not currently open for traffic.
Several states have implemented or introduced bills that protect some drivers who hit protesters with their cars. Protesters often block roadways and stop traffic during demonstrations. Following 2020's summerlong protests against police brutality, legislators in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah proposed increased penalties for demonstrators who halt traffic and would grant immunity for drivers who hit them. North Carolina does not have this kind of law.
Tyson has been a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for almost 14 years total and has taught law at Campbell University since 1987, according to the North Carolina Judicial Branch website.
Tyson and his lawyer, David T. Courie Sr., did not respond to ABC News requests for comment, but Courie told The Fayetteville Observer that he had seen the surveillance footage and it will be labeled Defense Exhibit #1.
Read more:
North Carolina judge accused of almost hitting Black Lives Matter protesters with his car - ABC News
- Pepper-balls vs. tear gas: How 2020's Black Lives Matter protest in Spokane compares to the immigration demonstration of 2025 - The Spokesman-Review - June 18th, 2025 [June 18th, 2025]
- Now and then: How Trump's response to LA riots has changed from 2020 Black Lives Matter and Antifa - Fox News - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Community comes together to repaint Black Lives Matter mural - The Pajaronian - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- When the looting starts, the shooting starts: Trump echoes notorious Black Lives Matter quote over LA anti-ICE demos - The Independent - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Understanding the History of Torture in America - Black Lives Matter - June 12th, 2025 [June 12th, 2025]
- Organizers look back to 2020 when 1,000 people marched in Black Lives Matter protest in Green Bay - Green Bay Press-Gazette - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza 5 Years Later - The Washington Informer - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter was an outbreak of global hysteria - Spiked - June 7th, 2025 [June 7th, 2025]
- What I learned from the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter uprising - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five Years of Black Lives Matter: Top conspiracy theories about the death of George Floyd - Times of India - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter wasnt interested in truth - Spiked - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- I walked across the south of America in a Black Lives Matter shirt this is what happened - London Evening Standard - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Storyville: White Man Walking review the man who marched 1,500 miles with a Black Lives Matter sign - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five years on from Black Lives Matter, has the UK made progress on ethnic equalities? - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- 'Coming from a place of accountability' - How the Black Lives Matter movement inspired analyst and ex-USMNT star Taylor Twellman to earn a degree 20... - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Five years of virtue signalling: the failure of Black Lives Matter - The Telegraph - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Was the Black Lives Matter rebellion all for nothing? It may feel like that, but I have seen reasons for hope - The Guardian - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Highland Park to restore Black Lives Matter mural - Central New Jersey News - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter street murals stand as an enduring reminder of protests against racism - Lynchburg News and Advance - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- 'Black lives matter': Demonstrators march in Southeast Portland, paying tribute to George Floyd, 5 years after his murder - KGW - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- History Today: How George Floyds killing in US gave rise to Black Lives Matter movement - Firstpost - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Free Palestine Replaces Black Lives Matter as the Cause of the Activist Class - The New York Sun - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- The far-right's resurgence was only a matter of time after Black Lives Matter - Big Issue - May 28th, 2025 [May 28th, 2025]
- Inside the Big Issue: The rise and fall of Black Lives Matter - Big Issue - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Five Years After the Murder of George Floyd, New Survey Measures Views on Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter - Good Faith Media - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd TV review tracing the transatlantic spread of Black Lives Matter - Financial Times - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Minneapolis still broken, divided and suffering 5 years after George Floyd death: Black Lives Matter was never here - New York Post - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter: Will Donald Trump pardon Derek Chauvin, convicted of killing George Floyd? What we kn - Times of India - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- BC teacher who referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as 'animals' gets reprimanded - Infotel.ca - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Teachers Are Building the Future. Trump Is Tearing It Down. - Black Lives Matter - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Megyn Kelly criticizes Met Gala's Tailoring Black Style theme: "It was basically Black Lives Matter at the Met" - Media Matters - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - Roanoke Times - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Seattle Parks working on plan for new memorial in Cal Anderson marking CHOP and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests UPDATE - CHS Capitol Hill... - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - Ottumwa Courier - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - southernminn.com - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza's end like its beginning is a barometer of the times - thederrick.com - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- D.C.'s Black Lives Matter mural will be erased. Look back at the iconic street painting - NPR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. Mayor Orders Removal of Black Lives Matter Mural She Commissioned After House GOP Threatens to Do It for Her - PEOPLE - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Reconstruction of D.C.s Black Lives Matter Plaza to begin next week - Washington Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Washington, DC, to remove 'Black Lives Matter' painting from street near White House, mayor says - The Associated Press - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Bigger fish to fry: Why DC is making changes to Black Lives Matter Plaza painting - WTOP - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Washington mayor says Black Lives Matter Plaza near White House to be redesigned - Reuters - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Plaza to be redesigned as part of new DC mural project - FOX 5 DC - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia leads attack on Black Lives Matter Plaza. What we know - Online Athens - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Suggests Black Lives Matter Plaza Will Be Painted Over - The New York Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC mayor to remove Black Lives Matter Plaza amid pressure from White House - NBC Washington - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Once declared 'permanent,' Washington, D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Plaza will soon be painted over - Fast Company - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Opinion | D.C. can respect Black Lives Matter without street art - The Washington Post - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC Mayor suggests city will paint over Black Lives Matter Plaza near White House - The Hill - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- D.C. mayor to ditch Black Lives Matter mural, street name to avoid scrum with GOP on Capitol Hill - Washington Times - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter Mural near White House will be replaced with a new mural as part of DCs America 250 mural project - PoPville - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - KCBY.com 11 - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WGME - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - NTV - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - KRCR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WRGB - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WPEC - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - WEAR - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - FoxReno.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - krcgtv.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - Dayton 24/7 Now - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- DC crews to begin 'reconstruction' of Black Lives Matter Plaza - ktvo.com - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Federal judge inclined to side with USPS over seized Black Lives Matter merch - Courthouse News Service - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Analysis: Whatever happened to Black Lives Matter? - Church Times - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- How old was Trayvon Martin when he died? A look back at the teen's death that sparked Black Lives Matter Movement - Soap Central - February 11th, 2025 [February 11th, 2025]
- On Trayvon Martins 30th Birthday, Black Lives Still Matter - Word In Black - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action in Olympia School District from Feb. 3-7 - The Jolt News - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Trump could undo everything the UK learnt from Black Lives Matter - inews - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Posters with Black Lives Matter term to be voted on by Lakeville school board - CBS News - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- Lakeville school board to vote Tuesday on use of "Black Lives Matter" posters - CBS News - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- Art by African Americans: From the Protest of the 60's to the Age of Black Lives Matter - TAPinto.net - January 22nd, 2025 [January 22nd, 2025]
- Community continues to demand answers concerning Rayvon Shahid during Black Lives Matter protests - Flint Courier News - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter protests police shooting of 17-year-old in Flint - WJRT - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter Flint hosts three-day protest for death of 17-year-old Rayvon Shahid - WEYI - November 21st, 2024 [November 21st, 2024]
- Davis, Black Lives Matter say police discipline bill is being rushed - WVPE Public Media - November 21st, 2024 [November 21st, 2024]
- Revealed: Starmer called for an export ban on police gear to Trump during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2 - Daily Mail - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - Fox News - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - MSN - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter activist to vote for Donald Trump: 'I definitely would not be supporting Kamala Harris' - AOL - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Lake County Black Lives Matter co-founder going to jail on contempt charge: They said I was trying to incite a riot - Chicago Tribune - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]