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NFAC Leader facing fed charges

Posted By: ConSigCor

NFAC Leader facing fed charges - 12/05/2020 03:25 AM

Leader of NFAC facing charges for allegedly pointing gun at federal agents, officers

By Natalia Martinez | December 3, 2020

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The head of a self-proclaimed militia who protested in Louisville with hundreds of armed followers has been arrested, WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters have learned.

John Fitzgerald Johnson, or “Grandmaster Jay,” was booked into a local facility on federal charges. A statement from the Department of Justice indicated that Johnson, who lives in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, was arrested Thursday and appeared before a federal judge in Louisville on Thursday afternoon.

Multiple sources confirmed Johnson was charged for allegedly pointing a long gun at federal agents and Louisville Metro Police Department officers.

The incident happened during a day of protests in September, on one of a handful of visits by the YouTube blogger.

Less than a minute after the incident, then-LMPD spokeswoman and advisor to the police chief Jesse Halladay was recorded coming out of a nearby building and hugging a member of Johnson’s group. The video was posted on social media and drew criticism from officers across the state. Halladay no longer works at LMPD.

Jean Porter, a spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer’s office, gave WAVE 3 News the following statement about Halladay:

“Ms. Halladay (had) been engaged in communications with various protesters and protest leaders during the course of the Louisville protests. When she met with them, she was unaware of the allegation that one of the protesters had pointed a firearm towards police.”

Johnson identifies himself as the leader of the NFAC, or “No F******* Around Coalition,” a self-proclaimed militia which includes hundreds of members. Johnson’s online videos have thousands of views. He ran for President of the United States in 2016.

The group gathered in Louisville a couple of times to join protests surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Louisville woman shot dead during an LMPD narcotics raid at her home.

At one such visit, one NFAC member accidentally shot himself and two others with his own rifle.

Johnson also was under scrutiny after making public statements some considered threatening, like stating he’d come back to Louisville and “burn it down” if Attorney General Daniel Cameron did not indict the officers involved in the Taylor case.

During a rally in July, Johnson also was quoted threatening to shoot someone who was on top of a nearby building.

“Two o’clock,” Johnson said as he instructed his armed followers next to him to look at the building. “Assume the position.”

“I don’t know who the **** you are,” Johnson continued, “but you’re about to get shot.”

At another point during the rally Johnson told the crowd, “If something happens, and y’all don’t hit the ground, that’s your fault. I’m giving fair warning. My people will defend themselves if attacked.”

He continued, “I’m going to say it publicly. We will not shoot you; we will kill you.”

This is the first time Johnson has been charged with any protest-related activity in Louisville.

Through a series of open records requests, some which took months to receive, WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters learned Johnson served in the U.S. Army beginning in 1997, when he was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The 57-year-old also spent time in Virginia and Maryland.

Johnson does not have any prior felony convictions, but has had run-ins with federal law enforcement before, according to records WAVE 3 News discovered.

According to records obtained by WAVE 3 News from the Charlotte, N.C., FBI Field Office, in 2003, Johnson was federally arrested and convicted of entering a military property, a misdemeanor. The additional charge of assault within a special territorial jurisdiction was ultimately dismissed, the records show.

If Johnson is convicted, he could spend up to 20 years in federal prison.
Posted By: airforce

Re: NFAC Leader facing fed charges - 08/15/2022 05:11 PM

Well, "Grandmaster Jay" got his wish. Former detective Kelly Goodlett is expected to plead guilty for helping to falsify a search warrant and filing a false report to cover it up. She is the first officer to face justice in connection with the murder of Breonna Taylor.

Quote
...Goodlett is accused of helping falsify a search warrant and filing a false report to cover it up, which could carry a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Goodlett’s testimony could be crucial as federal prosecutors pursue charges against three others — Sgt. Kyle Meany, former detective Joshua Jaynes and former detective Brett Hankison. They are charged with more serious civil rights offenses and could face life sentences if convicted.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family, expressed satisfaction after the court hearing. “The truth prevails!” he wrote on Twitter.

Goodlett resigned from the police department last week after she and her three former colleagues were charged in connection with Taylor’s death in March 2020. But unlike the others — Goodlett was not indicted. Rather, her charges were filed in a sealed “information,” which analysts said usually indicates a defendant has agreed to a plea deal with the government.

Meany, Jaynes and Hankison have pleaded not guilty, court records show....

Taylor, 26, was killed when plainclothes police officers burst into her apartment to carry out a search warrant in a drug probe. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a shot with his legally owned gun, striking an officer in the leg. He later said he did not realize the people who had entered the apartment were law enforcement officers. Several officers shot back, killing Taylor.

Investigators believe the fatal shots were fired by Myles Cosgrove, who was fired by the department but not criminally charged.

The Justice Department’s strategy “was a clever one,” McQuade said.

“There was a shooting, and someone died, and perhaps it was a crime, but it’s very difficult, as everyone knows, to prove a case in a police shooting because police officers have the authority to use deadly force,” McQuade explained. “To focus on the shooting itself was unlikely to go anywhere. What Justice did here was go back a step.”

Thomas Clay, an attorney for Jaynes, said he’s concerned about the possibility that Goodlett may have provided information to prosecutors. He said the federal government should not be prosecuting anyone involved in the case — especially not those who applied for the warrant.

“The reaction I’ve gotten from people in the law enforcement community has been pretty much shock and outrage,” Clay said. “They think that these prosecutions are unjustified and they’re politically motivated.”

Attorneys for Meany did not respond to requests for comment. Court records do not list lawyers for Goodlett and Hankison....


Read the whole thing at the link.

Onward and upward,
airforce
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