SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake community activist and former school board member who says he was defending himself when he fired several rounds at another vehicle is facing felony charges over the incident.

Jon Michael Clara, 55, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with seven counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony.

On Nov. 23, Clara was driving a Toyota 4-Runner near 900 West and 100 South when he was hit from behind by a truck with a snowplow on the front, according to charging documents.

“The truck hit Clara several times, spinning the Toyota around” and then drove off, the charges state.

Clara told police he thought the truck was going to turn around and hit him again, so he got out of his vehicle and started shooting.

“Clara stated he was aiming at the pavement toward the back of the truck to keep it away,” the charges state.

Seven rounds were fired. Clara does have a concealed weapon permit.

Another motorist who was stopped near 900 West and 100 South waiting for a train to pass heard the shots, followed by glass breaking in his own vehicle, according to the charges.

“A bullet had entered the rear window, traveled through his truck and exited out the windshield,” the charges state.

The man’s 12-year-old daughter was in the back seat and got glass in her hair, but was otherwise uninjured.

Clara’s passenger told police that they were hit three times by the truck with the snowplow. But by the time Clara got out of his SUV and began shooting, the suspect was “quite a ways from where Jon’s truck was at,” according to a search warrant affidavit.

Another motorist who was nearby at the time of the incident told police “he was concerned due to the distance the truck was from the driver of the 4-Runner and the amount of traffic on the roadway,” the warrant states.

The lead investigator arrested Clara after determining “that due to the distances from Mr. Clara to the truck, direction the truck was traveling, and the bystander’s vehicle being hit ... Mr. Clara should not have fired his weapon,” according to the warrant.

At the time of his arrest, Clara’s attorney, Clayton Simms, told the Deseret News he believed his client should not be formally charged.

“It was completely and totally self-defense,” he said. “He was simply reacting to that danger.

“If you act in self-defense then you are allowed to shoot a firearm,” Simms said.

The truck with the snowplow, which was stolen, was found crashed a short time later near 820 West and 200 South. Police were still looking for that driver as of Tuesday.

A dash camera in Clara’s SUV was seized by police as possible evidence.

Clara is a community organizer who works with Crossroads Urban Center and has been a longtime activist for the west side of Salt Lake City. He is also a former Salt Lake City School Board member and was a transit planner with UTA for nearly 20 years.