LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The man found guilty on federal charges of pointing a weapon at law enforcement officers during a downtown Louisville protest over the death of Breonna Taylor has been sentenced to serve 86 months in prison.
John F. Johnson, 59, of Cincinnati, also known as Grandmaster Jay, learned his sentence during a hearing today at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Louisville.
The incident happened on the evening of September 4, 2020 during a protest in the area of Jefferson Square Park. Two Louisville Metro Police Department officers, who were operating as members of a federal task force, were on the roof of a government building overlooking the protesters when Johnson pointed an AR-15 rifle in their direction.
Johnson claims the rifle was not loaded, the safety was on and he was just using the flashlight on the barrel of the rifle.
In May 2022, a jury convicted Johnson on two counts of assaulting a federal task force officer and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 84 months of one charge and two months on the second charge. After completing his sentence, Johnson will be on three years of supervised release.
Johnson was facing up to 27 years in federal prison. The seven years he received is slightly more than the minimum time allowed under federal law.
