{"id":53368,"date":"2023-06-14T18:05:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T01:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=53368"},"modified":"2023-06-14T18:05:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T01:05:37","slug":"montana-man-sentenced-to-18-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-kill-and-rid-town-of-lgbtqi-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=53368","title":{"rendered":"Montana Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Trying to Kill and Rid Town of LGBTQI Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"node-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris sentenced a Montana man to 18 years in prison for shooting into a residence and attempting to shoot others with the intent of ridding a town of LGBTQI+ people, accord.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-pr-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">John Russell Howald, of Basin, was convicted by a federal jury on Feb. 17 of a hate crime involving an attempt to kill and discharge an AK-style rifle at the residence of a woman who was known within the town as lesbian. She was home at the time, and then walking further into town intending to target others he perceived to be lesbian, queer, and gay. The trial lasted four days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WGOtFVIxtiU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u201cThis defendant is being held accountable for his horrific attempted mass shooting against the LGBTQI+ community in a Montana town,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division. \u201cHowald set out to rid the town of all LGBTQI+ members by killing them. He shot into the home of a lesbian resident, nearly killing her, with the hope of inspiring similar attacks around the country. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend the rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, to be free from hate-fueled violence.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u201cThe unfortunate reality is bigotry and hate exist in our communities. Still, as a diverse nation, we will not tolerate violence motivated by such bias,\u201d said Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. \u201cThe harm and trauma experienced by the victim, her family, and the entire community may be irreparable, but rest assured, the FBI is committed to protecting the civil rights of all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">According to court documents, on March 22, 2020, Howald went on a self-described mission to rid the town of Basin of its lesbian, queer and gay community. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Howald was armed with two assault rifles, a hunting rifle, two pistols and multiple high-capacity magazines that were taped together to speed reloading. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Howald walked to the first victim\u2019s residence and fired multiple rounds from an AK-style rifle into her property and home, all because of his belief regarding her sexual orientation. Hoping he had killed her, Howald set off toward other houses occupied by people who identify as lesbian, queer, or gay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Residents, who knew Howald and happened to be leaving the church, stalled him long enough for a Jefferson County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy to respond and inadvertently recorded Howald yelling and firing more rounds with the same rifle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">He expressed his hatred toward the community\u2019s gay and lesbian residents and his determination to \u201cclean\u201d them from his town. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">When the deputy arrived, Howald pointed the AK-style rifle at the officer, nearly starting a shootout in downtown Basin, and then fled into the hills, firing at least one round as he went. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Law enforcement arrested Howald the next day and found him armed with a loaded pistol and a knife. In Howald\u2019s car, officers found an AR-style rifle and a revolver. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">During a search of Howald\u2019s camper, officers found an AK-style rifle, a hunting rifle, and ammunition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The FBI, ATF and Jefferson County Sheriff\u2019s Office investigated the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan R. Plaut for the District of Montana and Trial Attorney Eric N. Peffley of the Civil Rights Division\u2019s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris sentenced a Montana man to 18 years in prison for shooting into a residence and attempting to shoot others with the intent of ridding a town&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Montana Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Trying to Kill and Rid Town of LGBTQI Residents<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. District Judge Brian M. 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