This Shooter Wanted to Exterminate All LGBTQ People. He Got 18 Years.
Montana resident John Howald receives 18-years for an attempted mass shooting aimed at exterminating all LGBTQ residents.
A federal judge has sentenced a Montana man to 18 years in federal prison for shooting up a lesbian woman’s house with an assault rifle as part of a self-described “mission” to rid his small town of all members of the LGBTQ community.
John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, was convicted in February on a hate crime and firearms charge for threatening the woman and shooting at her house with an AK-style rifle in an attempt to kill her on March 22, 2020, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Armed with two assault rifles, a hunting rifle, two pistols, and multiple high-capacity magazines that were taped together to speed reloading, Howald shot multiple rounds into the woman’s home, nearly killing her.
He then walked further into the town, intending to shoot up other houses occupied by people whom he either knew or perceived to be members of the LGBTQ community, with the intent of eliminating all of the town’s LGBTQ residents.
According to court documents, local residents who were leaving church, and who knew Howald, were able to stall him long enough for a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy to respond.
At least one of the residents recorded Howald yelling and firing more rounds with the same rifle, expressing his hatred toward the community’s gay and lesbian residents and his intent to “clean” them from his town.
When the sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene, Howald reportedly pointed the AK-style rifle at the officer, nearly starting a shootout in downtown Basin, before fleeing into the hills, firing at least one round as he ran away.
Law enforcement authorities arrested Howald the following day, and found him armed with a loaded pistol and a knife.
Inside his car, they found an AR-style rifle and revolver, and found an AK-style rifle, hunting rifle and ammunition inside his camper.
Howald was later indicted and found guilty of the charges against him following a four-day trial in February 2023.
On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, of the District of Montana, sentenced Howald to 18 years in prison, plus an additional five years of supervised release after completing his sentence.
“This defendant is being held accountable for his horrific attempted mass shooting against the LGBTQI+ community in a Montana town,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
“Howald set out to rid the town of all LGBTQI+ members by killing them. He shot into the home of a lesbian resident, nearly killing her, with the hope of inspiring similar attacks around the country. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend the rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, to be free from hate-fueled violence.”
Steven Dettelbach, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) — which investigated the case along with the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office — praised the actions of the ATF Helena Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in pursuing Howald’s prosecution under existing federal hate crime laws.
He called Howald’s actions “distinctly un-American” for seeking to deprive his victim of “her sense of safety, freedom, and privacy all at once.”
“Howald fired multiple shots into someone’s home based solely on her sexual orientation, and only the heroic and brave actions of residents and law enforcement, as well as some good fortune, prevented a targeted mass shooting,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, of the District of Montana, added in a separate statement.
“It is the kind of conduct that has no place in Montana, which is why our office vigorously prosecuted Howald and why the justice system is holding him accountable for his actions. Our office has an unshakable commitment to uphold the rule of law and protect the civil rights of all Montanans, including our LGBTQI+ friends and family members.”
An analysis of hate crime statistics issued earlier this year by the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ think tank at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law, found that LGBTQ people were nine times more likely to become the victim of a violent hate crime than their cisgender and straight peers.
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