Shooting Incident
On August 15, 2012, a gunman attempting to enter FRC's Washington, D.C. headquarters shot a security guard, 46-year-old Leonardo Johnson, in the left arm. While injured, Johnson assisted others who wrestled the gunman to the ground until police arrived and placed the gunman under arrest. Johnson was taken to a hospital to treat his wound. The gunman was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Law enforcement officials said that the suspect, 28-year-old Floyd Corkins II, a resident of nearby Herndon, Virginia, had served as a volunteer at a LGBT community center. The FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department investigated jointly "to determine motive/intent and whether a hate crime/terrorism nexus exists." Corkins appeared in court the following day and was charged with assault with intent to kill while armed and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition. An affidavit filed in the case stated that Corkins had told the guard “words to the effect of ‘I don’t like your politics.’"
On August 22, 2012, Corkins was indicted on three charges: Two charges in the District of Columbia, possession of a handgun during a violent crime and assault with intent to kill, and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition, a federal charge.
A joint statement was issued by 25 LGBT groups condemning the shooting. The National Organization for Marriage, another active campaigner against same-sex marriage, issued a statement saying “Today’s attack is the clearest sign we’ve seen that labeling pro-marriage groups as ‘hateful’ must end". FRC president Tony Perkins issued a public statement calling the shooting "an act of domestic terrorism" and criticizing the Southern Poverty Law Center for being "reckless in labeling organizations as hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy." Mark Potok of SPLC called Perkins's accusation "outrageous" and in a statement said: "The FRC and its allies on the religious right are saying, in effect, that offering legitimate and fact-based criticism in a democratic society is tantamount to suggesting that the objects of criticism should be the targets of criminal violence."
Read more about this topic: Family Research Council
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