BILLINGS, Mont. (TCD) — A 55-year-old woman stands accused of plowing into a religious group of 10 men who were demonstrating on a sidewalk over the weekend.
According to a news release from the Billings Police Department, on Saturday, Dec. 9, shortly after 12:30 p.m., officers received multiple calls reporting the alleged vehicular assault at the intersection of 6th Avenue North and North 27th. The suspect, Genevienne Rancuret, allegedly drove into the group repeatedly, causing damage to equipment and injuring a 45-year-old man.
The wounded victim, who sustained minor injuries, was part of a group called Israel United in Christ, The Associated Press reports.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Israel United in Christ is a sect of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which believes Black people, Hispanics, and Native Americans are descended from the 12 Tribes of Israel and that Jews are not. Israel United in Christ is seen as promoting “extremist, racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and sexist elements” of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.
Prior to the alleged assault, Rancuret reportedly told a convenience store employee she believed the group was racist against white people and implied she was going to strike them with her car, according to The Associated Press. Court documents obtained by the news source allege she said to police that the group called her a derogatory term, and she purposefully ran over them because she felt threatened.
Police said Rancuret fled the scene, but witnesses provided a suspect description. Officers later found Rancuret in the 700 block of Central Avenue at around 2:31 p.m. and took her into custody. She was booked into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility on eight counts of felony assault with a weapon, felony criminal mischief, and DUI.
According to The Associated Press, Rancuret pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, Dec. 13. She was ordered to remain held on $250,000 bond.
Police said the FBI is looking into the case, but it is still under review of the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office.
Prior to the incident, Rancuret reportedly threatened someone with a bread knife in 2021 and pleaded guilty to felony assault with a weapon. A judge gave her a deferred sentence of seven years and placed her on probation.
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