A Memphis man is facing charges for pointing a gun at protesters who had gathered outside his home on South Main.
Paul Staples reportedly told investigators he pointed the gun at protesters because he “felt in fear.”
“It escalated when Paul Staples went outside of his residence and confronted the group. Paul Staples pointed a handgun at the protesters in an effort to keep them away from his vehicle,” Staples told police in the affidavit.Staples is facing eight counts of aggravated assault and one count of tampering with or fabricating evidence. The last charge came as after he turned over the wrong weapon to law enforcement.
The mob of protesters had staged a protest after word came down that three of the four police officers involved in the Breonna Taylor case would not be indicted.Police initially declined to charge Staples, but local activists demanded that law enforcement punish the man — and eventually he was taken into custody.
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“We were standing in the street and I walked by where his truck was parked and he said ‘don’t come any closer’ and he pulled out the pistol and swept it across the group of people,” protester LJ Abraham told LocalMemphis.com.It’s not the first time citizens have been arrested simply for protecting themselves from the BLM mobs.
In St. Louis, a husband and wife were charged for defending their property against a violent mob that tore down a gate and broke into their exclusive, private neighborhood. And a Milwaukee man was arrested for displaying a firearm inside his house — after a mob had gathered on his front lawn.
