- A
mass shooting occurred at a downtown Minneapolis apartment complex on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in three deaths (including the gunman) and six people injured.
The suspected shooter was identified as Carlton Neal Johnson II, 35, of Minneapolis, according to people with knowledge of the investigation. Johnson was fighting an eviction proceeding based on a series of threatening incidents at the apartment complex, according to court records.
Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson said law enforcement was “familiar with who this individual was.” He did not provide a motive for the shooting.
A huge police presence converged on the Loring Park neighborhood following an initial report of multiple casualties.
KARE 11 news guy Lou Raguse has dug up some disturbing background on the shooter.
Given the legally documented threats the gunman had made to multiple individuals, how was this guy still eligible to have a carry permit? A
statement from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office indicated that because Johnson's firearm "did not leave his waistband" it's not considered a threat.
My friend, radio colleague and highly knowledgeable 2A activist Mitch Berg
suggests HennCo attorney Mary Moriarty et al didn't follow proper procedures with this one.
Minnesota’s “brandishing“ law treats the threatening display of a firearm as assault of some degree or another, depending on the circumstances (and unless it is a proportional deterrent, itself, to an attack.).
Either the repeated charges of brandishing just weren’t all that serious (huh?), Or the Hennepin County attorneys office really really really didn’t want to prosecute.
And that is why the obligatory "GUN CONTROL NOW!!!" shrieks are largely mute given there are already laws on the books to prevent an incident such as this, yet the system (once again) largely failed.
- With President Donald Trump's approval ratings hitting record lows, his presence on the campaign trail for Congressional Republicans is not desirous for candidates in competitive races. Nevertheless, Trump's $400 million super PAC seeks to make the midterms about one thing:
Trump. Essentially the pitch is to vote for Republicans due to all the wonderful things Trump believes he's accomplished.
It's reminiscent of the 2014 midterms when deeply unpopular Democrat President Barack Obama basically undermined his party's prospects by saying his "
policies are on the ballot" a mere month ahead of Election Day. Sure enough, the GOP flipped nine seats in the U.S. Senate to take over the majority in that body in addition to enhancing their advantage in the House, winning a party record 247 seats.
The silver lining for the GOP this cycle is the Dems are running absolute whack jobs in a good number of these congressional races, specifically Senate candidates in Texas, Michigan, Maine and my home state of Minnesota. Will it be enough to mitigate the potential bloodbath Republicans may endure? Time will tell, but Trump's self-promotion certainly won't persuade sorely needed independent voters.
- The annual "seed art" submissions at the Minnesota State Fair typically consist of leftists tapping in to their creativity by either skewering Republicans or deifying their favorite leftist politicos.
One submission this year seemed to accentuate the left's "a**a**inate Trump" fetishism.
After significant backlash, the artist requested her "art" be removed from the exhibit.
There have been a lot of "8647" symbols showing up in prog spaces, but each time they deny it means they desire to kill the 47th POTUS. Their claim is they use "86" in the traditional slang term of "getting rid of something" (in this case, convict Trump in an impeachment trial, thus forcing him to leave the White House). While that may be true in some contexts, it's understandable how folks aren't buying it with this particular seed art submission. Just look at the picture contained in the above tweet. Why are the seeds below the numbers decorated in blood red? Obviously the lefty apologists at Minnesota Public Radio noticed it, which is why a photo contained in their story attempting to paint the artist as a victim seemed to understate the colorization.
Look, I don't believe that the artist should have been doxxed or harassed for expressing herself. However, she would appear to be a perfect candidate for Minnesota's "
hate speech registry" that she and her fellow leftists were attempting to get passed during the 2023 legislative session.
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