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Lawyer Files Lawsuit to Restore Virginia Veteran’s Gun Rights
BLP recently covered how a disabled veteran, Jon Wolff, was arrested for open carrying a BB gun.
Now, his legal representative Jonathon Moseley is dialing up the pressure with a complaint that he filed on April 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. This complaint was filed in response to Wolff’s arrest for “merely holding a B.B. gun down by his leg, upside down with the trigger hanging down near the ground.” The veteran held the long-gun shaped B.B. along the front tip so that it was hanging down to the group. He then proceeded to lean the gun against the fence.
However, when he yelled at the trespassers in the neighboring parking lot, a woman yelled “He’s got a gun!” The woman was accompanied by a man and went off with him towards a road construction project.
They reported this incident to their supervisor, who later called the City of Fredericksburg Police Department. Wolff would later be arrested for “assault by intimidation” for holding a gun with other people around and for “brandishing” the gun just for holding it down next to his leg. Wolff received two counts for each offense because there were two “victims”. The veteran only asked the trespassers what they were doing in a parking lot across his own backyard.
On March 21, the complaining witnesses admitted at the trial that Wolff never pointed the gun at anyone or waved it. The mere act of having a gun around other people is now a crime in Virginia, provided that someone claims that it made them feel afraid.
On January 3, Wolff heard noise in the private parking lot of the College Heights swimming pool which he knew was closed down for the season.
The veteran was aware that this spot was often frequented by minors who held illegal parties there. On numerous occasions, Wolff saw blue police lights flashing through his living room.
Naturally, when Wolff heard the noise, he grabbed his B.B. gun and proceeded to go outside. He brought the B.B. gun because he was not sure what he was about to get himself into. Because of this, he would later be arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of 30 days in jail for each of two counts of “brandishing.” His jail time was suspended on the grounds of good behavior.
According to Moseley, “The Fredericksburg prosecutor argued that Wolff was guilty of frightening people with his B.B. gun because he grabbed the B.B. gun on the way out his back door for self-protection.” The prosecutor spun that into guilt of assault by intimidation.
Because of this, attorney Jonathon Moseley filed a “declaratory judgment” lawsuit on April 11. A copy of the lawsuit can be found here. Details and updates about the project will be available here.
In a span of less than 3 weeks, Moseley has been able to raise $8,000 for Wolff’s GoFundMe campaign.
However, Moseley plans on adding plaintiffs to this case.
Numerous individuals are going to “open carry” and therefore want the courts to clarify if they’re allowed to “open carry” or not.
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