I want to share my experience so those of you in MN know what to expect when you defend your self or your family. It didn't end how it should have and I'm facing up to 7 years in prison and 2 felony charges.
Last July, I was driving my 2 daughters, on a Sunday afternoon, to Scheels to go have some fun and get out of the house. I was on a 65mph highway in the right lane. This was when there was highway shootings happening all over here. A completely blacked out, modified sports car with dark tinted windows and all the badging removed, flew by us at like 90 and all most clipped my front bumper off as he cut into my lane. I was in the slow lane doing the speed limit. Then he slowed down to under the speed limit. So I just got in the left lane and started to pass. As I started approaching the truck in front of me and turned my blinker on, he sped up and closed the gap. I switched into his lane to avoid hitting the truck in front of me. I then matched the speed of the car in front of me.
Just so you know what the surroundings were like... At this point is when the highway gets complicated and traffic bunches up. My 2 lane turns into a 4 lane as 2 lanes from another highway merge. then right after that another 2 lane entrance merges onto the highway. On this 2 mile stretch of highway there are 0 exits and a construction zone with the shoulder blocked off the entire stretch. Tons of traffic merges and you always get boxed in on all sides by vehicles.
This is when things got scary. I looked back in my rear view mirror to see what the situation was. I could not see his car at all. I started looking all around and could not see his car anywhere. Then his roof appeared at the top edge of my tailgate. He was riding the nose of his car under my bumper. He backed off to the point where I could just see the front bumper of his car. Then he started making threatening gestures, throwing he hand out the window cocked sideways like he had a gun and jumping around in his car. He then slammed on the gas and acted like he was going to ram us and his car completely disappeared again because he was so close to me. I braced for impact, but he never impacted. All I could think was, "I have my 2 kids in the car," so I didn't do any antagonizing, and stayed at the same speed as traffic, to not escalate the situation. I never made eye contact with this person and never made any gestures. I just wanted to keep my kids safe. He repeated the ramming thing again, but never hit. A space opened up to my right, so I moved one more lane right, to let him by. He followed my bumper into the next lane right, then continued backing off, threatening, then acting like he was going to ram us again. At this point, I really thought this guy was going to kill us. He did this for about 2 miles and would serve left and right to threaten me in my side mirrors. So, I'm driving a 2006 Silverado 2500, with 300,000 miles on it and I kept picturing him hitting my rear end, spinning us out, and my truck tumbling and rolling into the ditch killing my kids. I also have an old style flip phone that is in my pants pocket, and I couldn't get it out of my pocket, sitting and buckled up. I do have my conceal carry permit and my pistol accessible. I don't draw my pistol yet as I continue to wait out his attacks, hoping he will let us go. Well, a car to his left switched one more lane left. This crazy guy swerved to the lane left of me, the sped up to right next to my driver window and slowed down to keep his window next to mine. I looked over to see if he was going to do something and he was jumping all around in his car and throwing his hand up in the air sideways like a gangsta with a side cocked gun. I really thought this guy was going to kill us at this point. I thought about my options. Crash throught the vehicle in front of me or to the side of me and cause a multi-car collision at highway speed, or point my pistol to deter him from doing anything else and leave us alone. so I pulled my pistol, rested it over my left steering arm and just kept it aimed down at him, in case I had to fire. He jumped around more, then he sped off at a high rate of speed. No shots were fired, no one got hurt and I felt I made the safest decision to stop this guy's attack on me and my kids. I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. I took the next exit. As I got to the end of the exit, I saw that car up at the stoplight. I wanted to get closer to try and get his plate number, but decided to keep my kids safe and stayed 200ft back from him. As he turned, then I went forward, made my turn and drove the next 1/2mile to our destination. I parked, told my kids we were just going to sit in the truck for a few minutes cause I need to calm down and stop shaking. I thought about what had happened, I recapped my reactions. I did everything I was supposed to do. I tried all my options to get away from the guy, I didn't escalate the situation, I stayed at a constant speed and didn't pull over on the side of the road, as any road rage class will tell you not to pull over on the side of the road. I tried every option other, than crashing through other traffic to get away. I'm telling you this detail so you know that even if you do everything you were supposed to to, the police and prosecutors will still try to put you in prison. I calmed down and thought about calling the police. I did not know what this guy looked like because his windows were too tinted. I don't know what kind of car it was because all the badges were removed, it was blacked out, and had different body molding, and I didn't have a plate number. The only thing I would be able to tell the police is, "it was a black car". I know from prior experience reporting crazy drivers, the police won't do anything, even if you have a plate number. I also know the City of Eden Prairie is a known ant-gun ant-self defense city. I also thought, "there is no way in hell this other guy is going to call the cops after what he did to us." No one was hurt, no shots were fired, and nothing was damaged. It was done and over with. Scheels was closing soon so I decided to just go in and have fun with my girls. It would have been a waste of time and taxes to call the police at this point and I knew they would probably arrest me because I had a gun and they hate gun owners here. THIS WAS MY ONE AND ONLY MISTAKE. but doesn't automatically mean I'm guilty.
Scheels closed and I was walking my kids out to my truck. I noticed a police car sitting there right out side the entrance and thought, that's weird. At this point, I had moved on and completely forgot about what had happened earlier. The officer watched me get my kids in the truck and buckle them up. As I started leaving the parking lot, the officer started following me. I thought he was going to pull me over because I had anti-democrat stickers, anti-mask stickers, and called out Gov. Walz on the back of my truck.(this is probably why that guy started crap with me on the highway as this area is filled with left wingers. So I just pulled into another parking spot to see what the officer wanted. I parked, rolled down my window, and put my hands on the top of the steering wheel, in preparation for him coming up to talk to me. Instead he jumped out of his squad, gun drawn, hiding behind his door, yelling "hands! hands! put your hands out the window!" My kids got scared at this point so I looked at them and told them everything was going to be ok. I put my hands out the window. He asked if I had any weapons and I told him I have a cary permit and have a 1911 on my hip. I asked him what was going on and that I have kids in the car. He didn't answer and instructed me to get out and walk backwards to him with my hands interlaced on my head, then kneel on the ground. I followed all his orders. He then said he was going to hand cuff me and not to reach for my gun. I reassured him I would not reach for my gun. He handcuffed me. I then told him my pistol is chambered and on safe so he could safely remove it from my holster. He got my pistol then put me in the back of his car handcuffed. I asked over and over what was going on and he wouldn't tell me. It hadn't clicked in my head that that [bleep] actually called the cops after assaulting me and my kids. I told the officer, I have 2 other firearms in the truck that they need to get out of there because my kids are alone in that truck right now. He said, "don't worry about that." I told him that again and he said he'd take car of that. 5 other squad cars, including swat members showed up. They left me in the back of the squad, while they integrated my children. They would not talk to me and didn't even attempt to ask me any question. At one point, I said, "The only thing I can think of is there was this crazy guy trying to run me and my kids off the road earlier and threatening us. Still no answer on why this was happening. After about 30min I heard the officer saying, we have a person we think matches your description and then another voice said, "[bleep]! you mother [bleep]!" They asked me for a family member's phone number so they could have someone pick up my kids,. He then read me miranda rights and said I am being arrested and charged with 2nd degree felony assault and felony terroristic threats with a weapon. He asked if I wanted to make a statement and I said no at this point because he was already arresting and charging me and I would be going to jail and court. He hauled me off to Hennepin County Jail.
I spent 5 days in jail. they issued a protection order against me for the actual assaulter. They took my cary permit and made staements that I should have never been allowed to own a gun in the first place and made a big spectacle about my [bleep] your mask sticker and list of democrat [bleep] on the back of my truck and that I pointed a gun with kids in the car. They said because I had these stickers, I am a particularly disturbed very anger person. They set my bail at $100,000, but the judge also offered $20,000 and full on house arrest where I can't even leave the walls of my house. After 5 days, I got out of jail on house arrest with an ankle bracelet on. I had to go straight home and stay in my house. The judge was notified that I was the sole provider for my kids and had to be able to take them to school, the doctor, pay bills, get to the post office, and even check my mail and asked if I could have access to my yard so my kids are not on house arrest and they can go play in the yard, Nope! No leaving the walls of your house,
Now what was happening on the police side and investigation. The highway footage existed, but they did not want to get it and the footage was deleted after 5 days, while I was in jail for 5 days. I believe this was done because they didn't like my stickers and are gung ho to prosecute me to the fullest extent of the law. They showed zero interest in interrogating the other guy. They only asked him what I did to him and never what he did to us. This guy took the chain of events and completely swapped it backwards so that he was minding his own business and I was attacking him, then pulled a gun on him. He didn't tell them about him threatening us and trying to ram us off the road. He spoke in a calm voice as he lied through his teeth.The police didn't push him for anything, they didn't want to get more out of him. When they interrogated my kids with no one around, They only asked them about me pointing the gun. My kids told them over and over someone was trying to run us off the road, yet the officers never dove into that truth and ask what happened with that. They completely ignored me and my kids telling them someone was trying to run us off the road. They just grilled them to say I pointed the gun. The police flat out did not care about what really happened, they only cared about prosecuting me. Again, the didn't even bother to go look at the highway footage to see what happened and had the video deleted while I was still in jail.They also made me get rid of all guns and reloading equipment in my house and they confiscated my 2 pistols and my daughter's rifle and took custody of them., combat vet, republican, full time single father, and engineer.
After 6 months, they let me off house arrest and I am awaiting trial, that will be made up of gun hating liberals from the Minneapolis area, I meet all the requirements stated in Minnesota state law for justifiable use of self defense, but the prosecutor doesn't care, they want me in prison and won't drop the charges Mick Freeman is the head prosecutor on my case. (George Floyd's prosecutor).They even sent a summons to my daughter to appear and testify against me.They still have zero interest in me and my daughters saying this guy was trying to run us off the road. They know there was no exits off the highway, I was boxed in, and there was no way to get away. They don't care. They just want to prosecute a gun ower
So I face 7 years in prison, loosing my kids, loosing my guns and property, having a protection order, 2 felonies, barred from ever owning guns again, and barred from voting,
Regret:
Regrets for ever moving my family fro South Dakota to Minnesota, for not shooting this guy after he lied to ruin my families lives, for not calling the police and reporting it. Although I shouldn't have to because no one got hurt and there was no damages.I wouldn't have done anything differnt as I tried all other options to get away and deescalate the situation. You know, what they teach you in conceal carry class, That don't mean [bleep] if they want you in jail.
I think the case should be dropped based on the botched investigation or purposefully ignoring glaring evidence and deleting that evidence, only investigating to put me in prison instead of investigating the other guy and finding the actual truth,
As soon as you are charged, they don't have to prove you guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It is actually you are assumed guilty and you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your self defense was warranted, See how they change the law backward when it applies to a gun owner.
I want the jury to be non-bias and see its an obvious case of self defense, the to drop the charges, give me my property back, then I want them to charge that other guy for assaulting us with his 3000lb deadly weapon and I want to sew him for lying to the police and for all the damages he cause me and my family and get my $30,000 back. I want him to read victim impact statements from my kids before they haul him off to jail. And I want to get out of this double standard state the second I can and raise my kids in a free state.I want reparations for the lost time with my kids and the detrimental affect it had at my work.
The best was you can safely defend your self and family is to move out of Minnesota. In most other states, the police will at lease try to get all the facts instead of suppressing them and deleting them.
