Authorities arrested a Springfield, Missouri, man Saturday for allegedly pointing a gun at a pro-life protester outside an abortion clinic in Granite City.
“This wasn’t just a guy who had a rifle, he pointed it at me,” said pro-life protester John Ryan, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday. “I see the barrel of the rifle pointing at me … I backed up a few steps, walked back across the street and called the cops.”
Ryan was protesting outside of Granite City’s Hope Clinic for Women and says he approached a car to hand out “Defenders of the Unborn” flyers when the man in the vehicle pointed a rifle at him.
The accused, 27-year-old Kevin M. Brooks, claims he didn’t do anything wrong.
“I didn’t point a gun at anybody,” he said. “All I did was lift [the gun] up so he could see it was there.”
“If I thought I had done something illegal, I could’ve left. I could’ve hid the gun, I could’ve done a number of things. I thought I was well within my rights,” Brooks continued. He claims he had the gun because he didn’t feel safe driving through East St. Louis without a weapon, according to the Post-Dispatch.
The Hi-Point model 995 rifle was “loaded, uncased and immediately accessible,” according to police.
“To say that they found a loaded gun in the car is an absolute lie. The gun was not loaded,” Brooks said, denying the authorities’ statements.
Madison County authorities charged Brooks with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
“The thing we want to stress is that this was an isolated incident and nobody got hurt,” said Detective Lt. Mike Nordstrom.
Brooks called the Post-Dispatch after Madison County Jail released him Tuesday. He faces up to three years in prison if found guilty of the charges brought against him. (RELATED: Nashville Abortion Clinic Closes. Only One Planned Parenthood Clinic Remains)
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
