A coalition of several organizations have united to raise awareness they hope will lead to the release of John F. Johnson, the former leader of the NFAC.
The Concerned Coalition of African Americans, The National Action Network, and other groups have called the conviction of Johnson, also known as Grandmaster Jay, “a miscarriage of justice” under the Bring Him Home Campaign.
Eleanor Harvey, BHH Coordinator stated, “The U.S. Government has targeted, falsely charged, and convicted Johnson in a sham trial while those who stormed the U. S. Capitol on January the 6th are getting away with murder. This is how America treats Black people who stand up for their people and exercise their constitutional rights. This is a shame.”
Kathleen Parks, president of the National Action Network President Louisville, Kentucky State Chapter, also issued a statement, which read, “We stand behind the exoneration and or acquittal of Mr. Johnson on this miscarriage of justice. He is being treated as if he is the worst type of criminal when he was the most law-abiding citizen during any protest he participated in. This is unacceptable.”
Johnson was found guilty of one account of assaulting and impeding officers and another count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. In 2021, he was indicted last year on federal charges that accused him of pointing a rifle at law officials during a protest on September 4, 2020. The military-styled formation was in response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor. Johnson founded the Not F###### Around Coalition, or NFAC, the largest Black militia in the history of America.
The Bring Him Home Campaign seeks the exoneration of Johnson and they also couple their movement to demand more information and justice in the killing of Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old African-American emergency medical tech that was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers on March 13, 2020. She was in her own home when the officers burst in her residence with a no-knock search warrant. She was hit at least eight time by officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove as she slept.
READ ALSO: Grandmaster Jay Supporters Launch Website
Johnson and the NFAC worked closely with the local police or the legal demonstration of registered gun owners in September 2020 to ensure a safe, lawful convening.
In December of 2020, Johnson was arrested by the Federal Joint Terrorism Task Force Authorities at his home in an early morning raid and subsequently accused of pointed his “AR15 assault style rifle” at authorities, months after the demonstration.
The Bring Him Home Campaign organizers released a statement to expound on their position:
Video evidence of the incident clearly shows that his fingers were never on the trigger and that he never aimed his weapon as he briefly swept his light from side to side. Johnson testified that his weapon was on safe the entire time. Johnson, who had previously led six other such demonstrations across the nation without incident, was tried and convicted in a Louisville Federal District Court in May of 2022 by an all-white jury in what the coalition of organizations called a sham trial. They said that Johnson, who insisted on many occasions that all those who exercised their 1st and 2nd amendment rights to respect the law and law enforcement, was targeted by the Trump administration because of his race and the growing size of the NFAC and the popularity of his legally armed protesting movement. Legal gun sales amongst the Black community increased 85% in 2020 in response to this movement.
Johnson, currently held in Kentucky, faces up to 25 years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on August 22, 2022. He must still contend with a trial in Kentucky State Court for the same offense he was already convicted of.
The organizations are asking the Federal Judge to release Johnson from detention pending his sentencing citing, Johnson who was free on pretrial release for nearly two years prior to being convicted, had no violations, and attended all hearings on his own. They insist that his current detention prevents him from preparing for his sentencing hearing or preparing for his upcoming State Trial. They further assert that he is not a flight risk and not a danger to the community.
The campaign also includes political support lobbying, social media content creation and trial injustice awareness activities in their six-point plan.
For more information, go to justice4gmj.com