White Man Charged With Terrorism For Threatening Somali-Americans
The Somali-American community has been the focus of terrorism investigations and victims of attacks.
NewsOne Staff
Minnesota prosecutors filed terrorism charges against a man on Monday, but his identity was surprising given the racial bias involved in the alleged crimes.
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Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman charged 55-year-old Lloyd Edward Johnson, a white man from a Minneapolis suburb, with making felony terroristic threats and carrying a gun without a permit. Johnson was accused of waving a gun at a group of Somali-American teenagers at a McDonald's in Eden Prairie on Nov. 19.
"Mr. Johnson did everything he could to provoke this incident, by insulting the young lady in front of him, to confronting a second person and finally pulling a gun after he already had moved away from the confrontation. While he is innocent until proven guilty, this is outrageous behavior and it is only through sheer luck that no one was injured by his actions," Freeman said in a statement.
The state's large Somali Muslim community has been the focus of multiple terrorism investigations. In 2016, a jury found three men guilty of federal charges that they tried to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. At the same time, the community has been the target of terror attacks, many of which have gone unreported to federal authorities.
Lloyd Edward Johnson, 55, of Eden Prairie, charged with felony terroristic threats and carrying a pistol without a permit. https://t.co/OSXEXi68ql pic.twitter.com/wehbv4LCzT
— Hennepin Co Attorney (@HennepinAtty) December 3, 2018
Johnson initiated a confrontation while standing in line behind the teenagers at the restaurant, Freeman said.
Two of the girls had trouble paying for their meal through a digital app.
"You were probably trying to pay with EBT," Johnson said, referring to the electronic benefit transfer card used by low-income people to access their federal benefits.
After walking away, Johnson returned seconds later to video record the argument with his cell phone. "He then told everyone to back up and pulled his handgun from his waistband before walking out the door," according to the prosecutor.
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A Disturbing Timeline Of Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger Killing Botham Jean In His Own Home
1. August of 2018
Botham Jean leading worship. This is who Amber Guyger killed. pic.twitter.com/NDv2zFoj1p
— DJ Wade-O (@djwadeo) September 14, 2018
Source:false	1 of 41
2. September 6, 2018
Mugshot of Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger released after she was arrested on manslaughter warrant in shooting death of Botham Jean https://t.co/a2T3wNREX9 pic.twitter.com/4564d9UrjQ
— FOX 28 Columbus (@fox28columbus) September 10, 2018
4. September 10, 2018
Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Botham Shem Jean. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had. Botham was a man of God, a graduate of Harding University, a worship leader, and a brother in Christ. We shared the same city and the same small religious tribe. pic.twitter.com/5BxQyxPgaM
— Collin Packer (@collinpacker) September 15, 2018
Source:Radio One	9 of 41
10. September 21, 2018
The Prime Minister of St. Lucia speaks out on the Botham Jean case.https://t.co/PnuaNzywEh
— NewsOne (@newsone) September 21, 2018
Source:false	10 of 41
pic.twitter.com/Bvt4ixHGsl
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) September 24, 2018
RIP Botham Shem Jean. He was a 26-year-old black man from St. Lucia who was shot and killed in his own apartment by a white Dallas police officer Thursday night. The officer reportedly faces manslaughter charges. https://t.co/50TnpC1Gb9 pic.twitter.com/shRJnkBcxK
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 8, 2018
Today would have been Botham Jean's 27th birthday. We need to keep his name alive. We need police officers to be transparent, and we must remove biases from their ranks. We can't turn away from America's history of racial divisions, but we can pave a different path forward. pic.twitter.com/0ZfIZ8F1xv
— Rep. Marc Veasey (@RepVeasey) September 29, 2018
14. October 5, 2018
15. October 17, 2018
Botham Jean's Mother On The Trump Administration: 'Some People Just Don't Care About Lives' https://t.co/OROFcCf6kN
— @pyramidfire (@pyramidfire) October 19, 2018
Details Of Botham Jean's Family Lawsuit Against Dallas Are Revealed https://t.co/rV93QLNQf0 pic.twitter.com/Tp2mZtUf7c
— Praise 104.7 FM (@PraiseRichmond) October 23, 2018
21. November 6, 2018
23. November 26, 2018
Source:Dallas Police Department	23 of 41
#BREAKING Dallas grand jury charges former police officer Amber Guyger with murder for killing Botham Jean in his own apartment. https://t.co/SLcNgPnZEO
— NewsOne (@newsone) November 30, 2018
25. December 28, 2018
Amber Guyger appears to continue to be protected by the city of Dallas.https://t.co/tYC6y0iXBz
— NewsOne (@newsone) December 31, 2018
28. April 4, 2019
29. April 30, 2019
30. June 5, 2019
Botham Jean's Mother Breaks Silence On Amber Guyger's 911 Call https://t.co/y44q5FCXMw
— ghetto intellectual™ (@kzshabazz) June 5, 2019
31. August 30, 2019
Dallas police officers were reportedly given new orders relating to Amber Guyger's murder trial for killing Botham Jean in his own home.
Jury selection begins Friday.https://t.co/RBHayvIUF1
— NewsOne (@newsone) September 3, 2019
32. September 5, 2019
"I'm not raising my expectations," Allison Jean said about whether justice will be served in Amber Guyger's murder trial for killing her son, Botham Jean, in his own home in Dallas.
Jury selection starts tomorrow, the anniversary of the shooting.https://t.co/cECezs80cQ
A year ago today Botham Jean was killed in his home by a cop because she was "tired" -- (yep, the fatigue defense). He was only 26 years old. A year later, still no trial (jury selection finally starts today). #BothamJean pic.twitter.com/ndK3Q4vNZV
— Clay 'Didn't Hold My Vote Hostage' Cane (@claycane) September 6, 2019
NEW - Amber Guyger's murder trial for killing Botham Jean in his own home will stay in Dallas. Judge Tammy Kemp ruled against a change of venue motion. #JusticeForBotham https://t.co/UOZSHDJGVV
Botham Jean's sister hopes Amber Guyger trial will bring closure for family https://t.co/NzxmefgYby
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 19, 2019
Amber Guyger killed Botham Jean over a year ago. The trial stared today.https://t.co/jFI5944rgG
"I wish he was the one with the gun that killed me."
Amber Guyger, ex-Dallas police officer accused of killing unarmed man in his apartment, breaks down in tears on the stand as she recounts the night's tragic events. https://t.co/EHJNIYULgM pic.twitter.com/ryoJkObpuF
— ABC News (@ABC) September 28, 2019
Amber Guyger has been found guilty of murder for killing Botham Jean. #AmberGuyger #BothamJean #AmberGuygerMurderTrialhttps://t.co/PgbPW8nyzW
— NewsOne (@newsone) October 1, 2019
Continue reading A Disturbing Timeline Of Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger Killing Botham Jean In His Own Home
UPDATED: 12:29 p.m. EDT, Oct. 1 -- Amber Guyger was found guilty of murdering Botham Jean when a jury returned its verdict on Monday. The verdict was returned less than 24 hours after the jury began deliberating Monday following closing arguments. The trial, which started Sept. 23, was originally expected to take two full weeks. Keep reading to find a detailed timeline of the shooting on Sept. 6, 2018, up until the guilty verdict was delivered more than one year later. The case has captured international attention in part because of Guyger's implausible excuse that she thought she was in her own apartment and shot Jean because she thought he was a burglar. READ MORE: Botham Jean's Mother Speaks Out Before Murder Trial Many questions surrounded the trial, including the apparent concern that Guyger wouldn't get a fair trial, something that apparently took a back seat to getting justice for Jean, an innocent and upstanding member of society. Jean's mother said that her son didn't deserve to die like that. In what seemed to be a telling sign, local Dallas police reportedly gave orders that suggested they were preparing for Guyger to be acquitted. The entire scenario surrounding the shooting was still incomprehensible to many people, even one year later: a police officer supposedly so exhausted from work that she mistook her apartment for the unit under her own, forced her way in and fired off her service weapon immediately. It was not clear whether the door was locked or why Guyger started shooting, especially since her story has repeatedly changed and Jean isn't alive to explain. Nonetheless, he was shot and killed. The St. Lucia native was only 26 years old. It took a full 72 hours for Guyger to finally be arrested and charged with manslaughter on Sept. 9. After only a few hours in custody, she was released on a bond of $300,000. There have been several pressing questions about the handling of the case by the Dallas Police Department. Why were the five search warrants for Guyger's home never executed? Why did it take 18 days for her to be fired? Why has Guyger's story changed and where is she now? There were suspicions of a cover-up, and the world has been outraged. The killing of Botham Jean is another example of how Black lives and bodies are seen differently in this country. As we all know, if a Black cop killed a white woman in her apartment, there would be swift justice. See the disturbing timeline below:
White Man Charged With Terrorism For Threatening Somali-Americans was originally published on newsone.com