Irishman Drives Truck Through Gates of Russian Embassy, Yells ‘I’ve Done My Bit, Lads!’ As Police Take Him Away

Sarah RumpfMar 7th, 2022, 6:44 pm
 

An Irishman smashed through the gates of the Russian embassy in Dublin with his cargo truck in a now-viral video, earning him cheers from bystanders, criminal charges from local police, and a histrionic reaction from the embassy.

In the video, Desmond Wisley can be seen backing his truck into the gates, as a number of locals who were on the scene protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cheer him on: “I love that!” “Well done!” “Bravo, bravo!”

The truck easily breaks through the gates and Wisley can then be seen getting out to distribute flyers he had printed, which showed the heartbreaking photo published by The New York Times on Sunday showing a young family that had been killed by a Russian strike in Irbin, Ukraine as they were trying to evacuate.

“It really affected me last night,” said Wisley about the photo.

“I just done this to create a safe corridor for the Russian ambassador to leave Ireland,” he explained his actions. “I want the ambassador and his colleagues to leave this country, leave this free country.”

“It’s about time we stood up,” Wisley added. “That’s my contribution today.” He commented that he expected to be arrested shortly as he continued standing right by the truck with his flyers, and told people that this was why he had done it.

A Garda officer (the Irish police service) soon approached, and told him she had to arrest him for “dangerous driving.” Wisley calmly went with her, calling out behind him, “I’ve done my bit, lads. It’s about time the rest of Ireland done their bit.”

One of the protesters, Lukasz Ryz, told The Irish Times that Wisley had been very careful not to injure any of the bystanders. “He said to everyone: I want to destroy this gate,” said Ryz. “He made sure everyone was out of the way. He was conscious of safety.”

The Times‘ report noted that the Russian embassy in Dublin has been the target of daily protests since the invasion of Ukraine began, including picketers, red paint being thrown on the wall outside the embassy, and graffiti that said “Nazis,” “Blood on your hands,” and “F*ck Russia.”

The Russian embassy released a statement complaining that the Garda officers had “stood idle” during the incident, which it described as a “criminal act of insanity directed against peaceful diplomatic mission.”

“The incident is cause of extreme concern,” the statement concluded. “We believe that no people of sound mind could support such senseless and barbaric actions.”

The embassy’s statement did not comment on whether or not the definition of “senseless and barbaric actions” would include bombing civilian villages, shooting at civilians and their pets attempting to flee, attacking nuclear plants, attacking other civilian neighborhoods, striking still more civilian neighborhoods, plus also these civilian neighborhoods, or launching mortar shells at evacuating civilians.

Watch the video above, via Twitter.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.