'Grandmaster Jay,' the leader of the NFAC, was arrested Thursday on a federal charge.

The NFAC (Not F***ing Around Coalition) is a Black militia that has demonstrated in multiple locations in the U.S. where there has been social unrest, including a march held here in Lafayette at the beginning of October. Johnson's arrest stems from a demonstration in Louisville this past summer as he led the NFAC in marches surrounding the officer-involved shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

WDRB reports that Johnson, 57, was charged with "assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees" after he was accused of pointing a rifle at officers on the night before the 2020 Kentucky Derby as they were positioned at the top of a nearby building.

Documents say that two federal officers and three Louisville police officers were blinded by a flashlight while leaning over the roof of the Jefferson County Grand Jury Building to conduct surveillance over the demonstrators below. Investigators say the light was attached to "the end of a rifle that Johnson was pointing at them."

All officers advised they were concerned Johnson might intentionally, or even accidentally, discharge a round at them. All officers recognized that the distance between themselves and Johnson was well within the effective range of the AR platform style rifle.

The probably cause affidavit also stated that even though two of the officers were wearing soft body armor they didn't believe it would "stop a rifle round."

Images from Court Documents via WDRB
Images from Court Documents via WDRB
loading...

Johnson met with LMPD officers seconds after the incident happened over the summer and he was also later identified from surveillance video. Just before 1 p.m. on Thursday, Johnson was booked into the Oldham County Detention Center. A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman says that Johnson could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted on his charges.

Here in Kentucky we revere our First and Second Amendment freedoms, not foolishness which puts police and protesters at grave risk

Johnson was set to have a preliminary hearing earlier today. We will update this story when more information is available.

More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL