Open Carry Activist Charged

Looks like he was involved in a shooting. I think that’s about all you can say until the facts come out. The coverage, obviously, is not a good thing for us.

UPDATE: More here and here.

UPDATE: Reading the situation over, it does not look good. He was shot while inside the car. Under some circumstances a car can be a deadly weapon, but it’s very difficult for me to see how this could be the case in a parking lot. On the surface, this does not look like a clean shoot.

UPDATE: Found the Criminal Complaint. Also it seems the alleged victim here had a history himself. The other victim did too. From the complaint, I wouldn’t say the victims were choir boys, but this isn’t a clear cut case of self-defense. Facts are in dispute, and when that is the case, it’s a jury of your peers who will sort out the facts and stand in judgement of the evidence.

17 thoughts on “Open Carry Activist Charged”

  1. I can’t find a copy of the complaint, (anyone found it?) but word is the two victims/attackers (depending on who you believe) were thrown out of the bar for being disorderly and have records for assault. This may or may not be true, but I don’t think we have all the facts.

    That said, I agree, this doesn’t smell like a good shoot.

  2. “That said, I agree, this doesn’t smell like a good shoot.”

    I have to wonder. The facts reported by the media make it seem bad, but this is the MSM reporting it, and it looks like the arresting officers are from the same department that he sued over his open-carry arrests. He has embarrassed that police department and that prosecutor’s office as part of his activism. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re taking the opportunity to hammer him as hard as they can in retaliation.

    There aren’t enough facts out yet to form a decent opinion, and I have to view the sources for the facts we do have with suspicion. This is going to be a big mess, I think.

  3. After reading the complaint, I think it’s hard to know. I’d like to hear his side of the story, which I expect we’ll not hear for some time.

  4. Something fishy is going on. I may be a bad shoot, but we’re definitely only seeing one side of the story through the press. Charging him with first-degree murder also seems ridiculous unless the prosecution intends to ram through a plea deal.

  5. Glancing through the complaint, I’ve seen a couple of things that seem to contradict the victim’s account of events leading up to it. I really wish I had the time to give it a good, thorough reading right now.

    I also find it odd that he would go out and commit deliberate murder and then call it in himself, and surrender the way he did. It’s certainly not unheard of, but it is odd.

  6. I read the entire complaint. It’s very hard to tell who was in the right. When I say it’s not a clean shoot, that means there are facts and evidence in dispute. That’s typically something a jury is going to decide. He might be acquitted for self-defense, but he’s going to have a hell of an uphill battle.

  7. I hope his lawyer gets him a haircut and a suit before showing up in court.

  8. John was talking on his cellphone while sitting in his car when he was shot. I’m sorry but I can’t figure out how you can be assaulting someone and talking on your cellphone at the same time.

  9. Jujube:

    He was talking on the cell phone when the altercation started. He put the phone in his pocket during the altercation, and it disconnected after a while. A short while later, when the person he was talking to tried calling back, it just rang. What happened in between them is the harder bit to figure out.

  10. Sebastian,

    That’s kind of my point. How can you even start an altercation while you’re talking on a cellphone and driving a car? Wouldn’t that be like the ultimate in multitasking?

  11. From the criminal complaint, the image I get in my head is the defendant appearing at the driver’s wide window while he’s talking on the phone, which is where the altercation began. Who’s responsible for it escalating to a shooting, and how did it happen? We don’t know. There’s just evidence.

  12. Jujube,

    It sounds like you know or have talked to players involved. If so, can you share what you’ve heard? From my reading of the complaint, it’s hard to know what happened, but I didn’t read a narrative where the altercation started while driving.

  13. Sebastian,

    I think that theory is inconsistent with Corn’s statements (which may be because the theory is wrong or the statement is untrue).

    I don’t think getting to what really happened is going to be straightforwards here absent security footage or the like, but will follow the case with interest.

  14. I think the evidence in this case is going to be important. The defendent was on the passenger side of the car when he started shooting.

    What I don’t understand is how Corn ended up shot. He wasn’t in the car.

  15. I would like more information on the phone call. It sounded like they couldn’t tell if that was the defendant on the phone, Corn, or just someone else entirely. The person on the other end said they wouldn’t have recognized Corn’s voice.

  16. The article says the police seized correspondence related to a court case, his hunter safety course certificate, and receipts for guns he legally purchased. There is no rational basis for seizing that stuff – the intent is clearly punishment without due process and intimidation.

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