Jerry LambeJun 2nd, 2021, 4:10 pm
John Russell Howald
A federal grand jury in Billings, Montana returned an indictment charging a Basin man with a hate crime and a firearm offense for allegedly firing a gun into another individual’s home because of their perceived sexual orientation and threatening them with “violent homophobic slurs,” the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
According to documents unsealed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Montana,
John Russell Howald fired at least one shot into the unidentified person’s house on March 22, 2020, then yelled that he wanted to “get rid of the lesbians [and] gays.” The offense also included an attempt to kill the person, per the indictment.
A federal grand jury in Billings returned an indictment on May 20 charging a Montana man with hate crime and firearm violations for allegedly firing a gun into an individual’s house and threatening the individual with violent, homophobic slurs.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation in honor of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Pride Month 2021. Read the full proclamation below.
The uprising at the Stonewall Inn in June, 1969, sparked a liberation movement a call to action that continues to inspire us to live up to our Nation's.