In wake of Gardner’s suicide, special prosecutor offers new details about events leading up to James Scurlock shooting – By Caitlin Dickson (Yahoo News) / Sept 23 2020
One day before Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock outside his bar in downtown Omaha, President Trump threatened to send the military to Minneapolis in response to violent clashes between police and protesters following the death of George Floyd in police custody, tweeting “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
The timing of Trump’s tweet, which Twitter has since removed from public view for violating its policy on glorifying violence, “is significant in terms of Jake Gardner’s affinity for the president,” special prosecutor Fredrick Franklin told members of the press in Omaha on Wednesday.
Last Tuesday, Franklin announced that a grand jury had decided to indict Gardner on four felony charges, including manslaughter, in relation to the fatal shooting of Scurlock, a 22-year-old unarmed Black protester, during demonstrations against police violence in Omaha on May 30.
Over the weekend, attorneys representing Gardner confirmed the 38-year-old former Marine had committed suicide the same day he was scheduled to turn himself in to authorities. In addition to manslaughter, Gardner had been charged with felony counts of attempted first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and making terroristic threats. If convicted, he would have faced up to 95 years in prison
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