LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The leader of the Black militia group known as the NFAC pleaded not guilty to federal charges in court on Friday.
John Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grandmaster Jay, was arrested on Dec. 3 and charged with five counts of wanton endangerment. Johnson is accused of pointing a rifle at Louisville Metro Police officers and federal officers the night before the 2020 Kentucky Derby, according to a probable cause affidavit. It allegedly happened just after 8:30 p.m., as officers were conducting surveillance of demonstrators at Jefferson Square in downtown Louisville.
At that time, LMPD officers at the scene received a radio transmission stating that a group of "six to eight heavily armed individuals" were parked on Armory Place, near a parking garage, according to court documents.
Surveillance images that federal authorities say show John Johnson (Grandmaster Jay) pointing a rifle at officers. (Source: Probable Cause Affidavit / FBI)
Two federal officers and three LMPD officers then went to the top of the nearby Jefferson County Grand Jury Building to watch the group, but were blinded by a flashlight when they leaned over the roof, the affidavit claims.
Prosecutors say the flashlight was attached to the barrel of a rifle Johnson was pointing at the officers.
During Friday's hearing, Judge Jennifer Wilcox ordered Johnson to have no firearms or deadly weapons while the case is pending. He is due back in court in February.
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