A Minneapolis man has been arrested and charged with felonies after allegedly pulling out a gun and threatening staff at a historic gay bar in the city.
Hennepin County prosecutors say Conell Walter Harris, 30, entered 19 Bar, the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ bar in Minneapolis, located in the city’s Loring Park neighborhood, on Monday.
He quickly attracted the attention of other customers, who claimed he was “acting strangely,” according to Minnesota Public Radio News.
When an employee asked Harris for his ID, Harris became visibly upset. When a different employee asked Harris to leave, he allegedly pulled out a gun, held it in his hand, and said, “I ain’t going nowhere,” reports Minneapolis ABC affiliate KAKE.
Harris allegedly “squared up” with the employee, prompting a patron to insert themselves between Harris and the bartender in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, according to court documents. But Harris threatened both the employee and the patron, telling them, “Watch what the f— you’re saying,” and “I’m going to f— you up.”
Harris then exited the bar, telling the bartender, “I’ll f—ing kill your dyke ass” as he left.
Witnesses say Harris later re-entered the bar and began playing pool before officers arrived on scene. Police say Harris resisted arrest and repeatedly reached into his sweatshirt pocket. Officers allegedly recovered a .45 caliber Glock on Harris’s person.
Harris faces felony charges of making violent threats and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which killed five and injured 20 others. The alleged shooter in that case, Anderson Lee Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary, was stopped after two patrons tackled them, beat them with their own gun, and restrained them until police could arrive.
Last week, a man in Atlanta was arrested for allegedly making “terroristic threats” towards at least two LGBTQ nightclubs. The suspect in that cases, Chase Staub, allegedly posted videos to Instagram that appeared to imply he intended to shoot up one club. Staub entered the second club in person and allegedly made threats to patrons and employees before being asked to leave.
A gay-owned ice cream shop displaying a large Pride flag outside was attacked twice in 24 hours by a man who hurled Molotov cocktails at the business.
Jason Fletcher, owner of Fletcher's Ice Cream & Café in Minneapolis, told NBC affiliate KTTC that employees had left just six minutes before the first attack, around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, October 19. The suspect hurled a Molotov cocktail, shattering a window and igniting several chairs. Patrons at nearby Mac's Industrial Sports Bar helped extinguish the flames.
The second attack came just over 14 hours later, around 12:52 p.m. on Monday, when the shop was closed. This time, the Molotov cocktail created a larger hole in the window, but its wick fell out before the flames could reach inside. The fire scorched the sidewalk outside, leaving burn marks near several tables and chairs.
Ihab Mustafa El Mahmoud was arrested in West Palm Beach after allegedly trying to run down members of an LGBTQ running group during a meet-up in a local park. The Florida man faces two counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and one count of reckless driving.
El Mahmoud could also face hate crime charges or bias enhancements for allegedly targeting the group because of their sexual orientation.
According to West Palm Beach police, El Mahmoud allegedly took offense at what he perceived as a comment about his sexual orientation when a runner asked if he was at Howard Park for the "Night Runners West Palm Beach" group's regular meet-up.
Shakers, a D.C. bar particularly popular with various LGBTQ recreational sports leagues, has announced on Instagram that it will be closing its doors on Sunday, Nov. 23.
In the Nov. 17 Instagram post, Daniel Honeycutt and Justin Parker -- also proprietors of the since-closed The Dirty Goose bar -- shared that after "many, many difficult discussions," they have decided to leave the LGBTQ nightlife industry. The couple said they looked forward to taking extra time to spend with their 3-year-old son.
The post also noted that Keaton Fedak, the owner of Kiki and a former employee of The Dirty Goose, would be taking over the space at 2014 Ninth St. NW, which includes two indoor bars and a large enclosed patio.
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