Attorney warns drivers facing protest crowds in Indiana

Gun rights attorney Guy Relford addressed a specific legal danger for drivers caught in violent protests during a broadcast on 93.1 WIBC.

Indiana law allows an occupied motor vehicle to be treated under the state's castle doctrine. This means a driver may use reasonable or deadly force to stop an unlawful entry into the car or to end an attack on the vehicle.

Relford noted a critical limitation in how that force is applied. The statute authorizes force against the person attacking the driver or the car, not necessarily everyone around the vehicle. This includes people standing in front of the car who are not directly making contact.

He warned against the strategy of accelerating into a crowd. Relford described that move as a recipe for disaster because a car can be classified as a deadly weapon. A driver who hits people may face charges such as criminal recklessness.

In court, witnesses who were hit could claim they were exercising First Amendment rights. Relford said dozens of bystanders might back up those claims. He pointed to a 2020 incident on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis where a driver surrounded during protests drove off, hit people, and was later prosecuted.

Relford advised drivers to avoid such situations entirely. He recalled watching the 2020 demonstrations from the station's old studios on Monument Circle and choosing to stay overnight rather than drive into the crowd.