Journalist urged running over 'Nazis' days before Freedom Convoy protesters were mowed down in Winnipeg

Just days before four Freedom Convoy supporters were hit by a car in Winnipeg, Canada, a Twitter-verified journalist encouraged people to run over "Nazis."

Writer and producer Brian Walton wrote to Twitter followers on Jan. 31: "If you see Nazis on the side of the road, do the responsible thing and run them over."

The former Nerdist editor-in-chief's call for violence earlier in the week against "Nazis" mirrors the language that far-left agitators use to justify violent crime committed by comrades against Antifa's political enemies, deemed as "fascists."

However, he has since insisted it was just a vague reference to "literal" Nazis.

"Woke up to some very angry Nazis this morning. I did Nazi that coming," Walton joked. "So, the nazis found my Twitter overnight. Good," he added in a series of separate Twitter posts over the weekend. "You call a Nazi a Nazi and now half the internet thinks you're talking about them. Wild," he also tweeted Saturday.

Walton's verified Twitter account had tweeted the instruction on Monday. Several days later, four male victims supporting the trucker rally were injured Friday night after a lone driver hit the group of protesters outside the Manitoba Legislature.

Winnipeg police said a man steering a Jeep Patriot drove through a crowd that was part of the Freedom Convoy protest near the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Numerous witnesses reported that the male suspect was driving the light-coloured SUV fast through red lights after the incident, according to investigators. When the man was arrested, he struggled with police, law enforcement said.

The 42-year-old suspect from Friday's apparent hit-and-run was taken into police custody. He's now facing charges including assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a vehicle causing harm, and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

One man was treated at a nearby hospital and released, while three others who sustained minor injuries from the incident were treated on the scene.

Walton's other Twitter posts show reaction to intense backlash over his initial "Nazis" tweet, first exposed by The Post Millennial's editor-at-large Andy Ngo.

"Apparently suggesting Nazis must die is controversial now," Walton tweeted Saturday. He noted in another post that Monday's tweet refers to "the literal Florida Nazis." Walton added on Twitter earlier Saturday: "And yes, I believe ppl who choose beliefs we went to war over should be removed from the planet."

Walton uploaded an image depicting when National Socialist Movement members were involved in a scuffle during a neo-Nazi demonstration at Waterford Lakes last Saturday, resulting in the hate crime assault of a Jewish college student.

Two men were charged Friday with battery evidencing prejudice after video showed the pair attacking the Jewish man who confronted the group as they're shouting antisemitic slurs, The Orlando Sentinel reported. The battery charges are now being upgraded to third-degree felonies under Florida's hate crime law.

"I am so over people projecting their bullshit onto me. Do I think swastika waving Nazis should die? 100% if you're calling for the genocide of minorities. I 100% think the world is better without you. I do not give a shit about protesters in Canada. I really don't," Walton continued overnight Saturday into Sunday.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Walton, who has job hopped across the media market in recent years, is now an account supervisor in the Los Angeles metropolitan area for boutique gaming and e-sports PR firm B/HI, a division of public relations agency and Dolphin Entertainment subsidiary 42West.

A year prior, Walton was a brand content producer who developed multiple brand shows for Seoul-based online game developer PUBG Corporation.