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.

I'm sorry that you find yourself in this dilemma, and I hope you find some solutions to your problems.

One question I have is who is it that has made these accusations against you and why, its not because he is a "good citizen" ?

And a little advice, bumper stickers say things about you that are better left unsaid.

its sad this bad guy gets away with what he pulled and lied about .

It may be wise to say nothing about this on a public forum.

If you ain't going to use it don't pull it, Rio7

+10 I was taught that you should always call the cops if you have to pull your gun.

Exactly, I would never show a piece of schitt like that my gun, if I wasn't gonna use it.

Gohip, I hope you get this crap straightened out.

Just a thought , NRA-ILA. I believe they actively work on these cases.

Sounds like you shouldn't be allowed to own a firearm.

Where was your lawyer when they were questioning you and why did you let them question your children?

Never pull a gun unless you have a legal need to kill someone . Now it's your word against his and he is the one who called the cops . Should have lost the seat belt and called 911 when he first started his stupid [bleep] and left the gun in the holster.

At the very least that comment should have been kept to yourself . Anyone can search the internet and find this and use it against you , I would if I were prosecuting you . Some things you need to keep to yourself .

I didn't let the police question my kids. they just did it with no one else present. I don't have a choice being handcuffed in the back of a squad car. The police never questioned me. They wouldn't even talk to me until I was officially charged and being hauled off to jail. That's the only time they asked me if I wanted to say anything. I never had the chance to call a lawyer until I was already in jail. The 1st lawyer told me we have plenty of time to get the highway footage. WRONG. I never had a chance to say what happened until I was being charged with 2 felonies and at that point I knew it's time to be quiet. "Never pull a gun unless your going to shoot". I disagree and challenge you when someone is threatening your life. I have pulled a firearm in combat to stop a situations from progressing further and its a tactic police do all the time. It more often than not stops the threat. I have no idea who the person is because he was in a fully blacked out tinted out car and I could see nothing but his shadowy outline. Believe me, I contacted the NRA and a bunch of other pro gun groups and they all just say, "We don't deal with criminal cases." By all intents and purposes, I should have been able to shoot him as he was attacking me and my kids with a 3000lb weapon and we had no way out other than for me to crash through multiple other cars and possibly hurt a lot more people. Fumbling around and trying to dig my phone out of my pocket while I was bracing for possible impacts over and over again was not doable. I was in the center lane, surrounded on all sides by cars going 65mph, in an old truck with loose steering. I tried every other means to get away from the guy. The only mistake I made was not calling the police before he did. He also waited a 1/2hour to call the police and went home and consulted with friend to come up with his story and completely change it around. I don't take back my comment, he was trying to seriously hurt or kill me and my kids. I have to tell people so I don't go insane and all this info is already out. They never investigated this other guy in the slightest, even after my kids told the police he was trying to run us off the road.
Do not move to minnesota if you value your rights and safety.
Being the victim and being prosecuted, while the actual assaulter is given a protection order and you never get to see the face of the person who attacked your family, is the worst part of this whole thing.

With my stickers, before moving to MN, I never had them up. Only after moving to this liberal [bleep] and being ordered to stay in our homes, wear masks, kick my kids out of school, and get a shot to keep my job by our governor and pres, did I feel the need to post up my comments on my truck. Yep did it 2 years and now their back down and I installed front and back cameras in my truck to record every time I drive. I will not take down my American Flag though.

it cost plenty money to fight the law but it was illegal for the enforcement to talk to your kids without your permission . things up in north country not the sh -it hole called the twin cities are not like the liberal area. its too late to say what you should have done. one thing about law enforcement is they know you are easy to prosecute because you won`t cause them any problem but if you were a different race and lied they would have just let you leave in the liberal area. good luck,Pete53

I read where you said you have pulled your gun during combat and didn't shoot and cops do it too. But, that was not considered a combat situation and you are not a police officer are you? They look at things different. Remember that. And also thank you for your service. I don't say that enough.

I sincerely hope you consulted with your lawyer before pasting this, although I doubt it. This isn’t Facebook drama, you are giving the prosecutors wayyyy too much data and a peak inside your mind. You handed them a very effective argument “should have shot him” to use against you in a criminal case and any future attempt you make to have your firearms rights restored.

Not for nothing, what kind of liability do you think would be attached to shooting at a moving vehicle, maybe rendering that driver incapacitated, and turning his car into a move uncontrolled weapon. While I have the benefit of hindsight, I would say get your phone out somehow and call 911. Pull over on the shoulder if you have too, those are safer options than shooting the driver of a car.

What ever you do, stop posting this on any public forum. Talk to your lawyer. If he’s ok with you posting, he’s a dim wit, get another lawyer.

What's done is done, now. You need a really good lawyer who specializes in criminal cases.

Best of luck. I'm afraid you are really going to need it.

L.W.

the best criminal lawyer in Minnesota is probabaly Stevn Meshbesher, spelling may be wrong ?

As this supposedly happened almost a year ago, I should hope the OP already picked an attorney. Then again, his posting this story would fit someone not getting (or at least following) good legal advice. $30,000 seems pretty low for an attorney in the Cities, for even a retainer. My choices are a $50,000 retainer to call them and was told to expect a $100,000 minimum if it goes to trial. And that does not me they will win. That is a pretty big incentive to know you are correct in your actions.

There used to be a saying that only the guilty hired Earl Grey or Ron Meshbesher. They kind of earned that saying and Ron's son, Steve, has received that mantel from his dad. I have several other attorneys other than these two highly advertised ones picked in the event I had to defend my use of deadly force.

I used the words "supposedly" and "story" as the event does not seem to have been recorded in any of the news outlets either local as well as Tribune/Dispatch nor was I able to find mention of it in the EPPD website. My appologies if the former somehow did not cover it and/or I missed it in the search of the PD reports but as I don't recall mention of such an incident, a couple local gun rights sites I'm on have no discussions on it, the errors contained, and public posting of such a story prior to adjudication are warning flags to me. The claims of bias regarding his bumper stickers also ring hollow, there are many such on the road and one does not see those vehicles over represented on the side of the road. I also question the traffic cam claim, I have requested and received traffic cam video over a month after the incident for an accident my stepson was involved in. I did have to request the info from MNDOT but it was provided. It might be 5 days it is available online but I have pulled video after a longer time than that stated.

Also, Mick (sic, it's Mike) Freeman did not try the case nor even bring charges against Derek Chauvin. That investigation was passed to another county (don't recall off hand, it was either Ramsey or Washington) due to possible conflict of interest. Charges were brought by that county and ultimately prosecuted by the State due largely to cost, especially for security.

First, the police generally can question the kids without a parent present. The kids are at least witnesses, if not victims, of a possible crime and can be questioned as such. It is when the kids are suspected of a crime that they have the right to have a parent and/or attorney present during questioning.

Second, it is a basic tenant of a MN carry permit class that one calls the police in such a situation. You have just committed a violent crime (threatening another person with a firearm) and not calling in such an event is a strong indicator of one's guilt. The call may not necessarily have to be during the incident but as soon as it is overawed one is safe, one should be contacting the authorities. Certainly, do not wait until after the police arrest you to notify them of your attack.

That same class would also have taught that one must also be able to convince the prosecutor, then the jury if it gets that far, they were in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury. That is a tough sell as the OP was in a much larger pick up compared to the perpetrator's car. The pick up can be spun off by a smaller, lighter vehicle but it is harder to do.

On the same token, aggressive driving is not considered a deadly assault allowing deadly force as a response, again something that should have been covered in class. It may be threatening but threats alone are not considered deadly force so one is not allowed to use deadly force in response. It can be a fine line but it is hard to claim you feared for your life when one does not call the police when possible and chooses to go shopping instead. One's actions before, during, and after an incident will be scrutinized and any deviation from what a "reasonable person" would do raises question marks against the alleged victim. As already stated, calling 911 as soon as it is safely possible is one's first action, not doing so puts one in the suspect, not victim, category.

I'll stop here, there are other things that could have been done better but those I believe to be the highlighter ones. If nothing else, this should be a reminder that one should consider various eventualities and determine what their response would be within the law. It can help prevent a wrong action in the heat of the moment as well as afterward.

Again, I apologize if this is an actual event that I was unable to find through several sources. It is not a pleasant experience in any way, shape, or form. There were some missteps that put you in the position you are in and I hope your attorney can/has overcome them. That said, this post can be a lesson on what not to do. It is not an experience one wants to face.

USAA has a LOT of training video's to keep someone from going through this kind of incident, and what a person should do. Thinking like you are building a defense from the very beginning is proper thinking.

When a gun is pulled, figure the cops take everyone to jail...standard procedure.

never ever talk to law enforcement without an attorney present or allow them to talk to your children without an attorney. never trust any of them !

True words.

About the only things that you should say to a LEO without an attorney present are the following:

"Hello", "Am I under arrest?", "Am I being detained?", "Am I free to go?", "Goodbye".

If you're not under arrest, get up and leave immediately.

If the police don't have any theories or evidence, you can only help them by talking to them. LEOs want to close their cases and some of them don't care if justice happens, just that someone is held accountable.

Just came across this thread...if true, very illustrative why one needs to take serious legal training in addition to firearms training if you're going to carry. I can guarantee you that if you're a suspect in a firearms assault investigation and you refuse to give your side of the story to the police, there won't be any question if you're free to leave.

Tag

Damn. I thought you could draw your firearm on someone to legally deescalate the situation. You know like on Lethal Weapon and Gunsmoke . LMAO

Unreal. I hope it all works out for you.

WHAT YOU SAY IS : BAD GUY TRIED TO HURT ME HERE IS MY HANDGUN I HAVE A CONSEAL CARRY PERMIT ,TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL FOR A BLOOD TEST ON DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ,I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY TELL MY ATTORNEY IS HERE WITH ME. THANK YOU > ALSO IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN WITH YOU TELL THE OFFICERS YOU MAY NOT TALK OR QUESTION MY CHILDREN WITHOUT ME AND MY ATTORNEY PRESENT AT ALL TIMES.

Actually you don't even say that. Every attorney I've spoken with has said say nothing. You invoke your rights and would like to speak to your attorney. No fear for life. No drag em in the house. No take me for drug tests. NOTHING.

Sounded like some idiot posting bullshit when I read it the first time, elsewhere. Still sounds like some idiot posted bullshit a year or so down the road.

> BATF handgun trainer told us what to say and do in the handgun class i took , i believe he is much more right , saying nothing is not the answer always .

Does the BATF take you to court???

Good luck to you and let us know how this goes.

been in trials ,dealt with law enforcement , been questioned by attorneys ,if you can`t handle it then don`t say anything .

Two guys have road rage on the highway. The OP pulls a gun.
The OP posts online to get us on his side.
The other guy calls the cops right away to get them on his side.

This looks REALLY BAD for the OP.
There is ABSOLUTELY ZERO CHANCE any court will say pulling out a firearm is a good response to an aggressive driver on the highway.
Zero, zilch not going to happen.

Takeaways:
1. NEVER pull a gun for an aggressive driver.
2. If you ever have to draw your gun call the police first. This is important.
For example lets say someone approaches you and says "give me all your money".
You pull you gun. The would be robber runs off and calls the police on you. The police come and you are armed and the would be crook is not. Even if he was he wouldn't keep the gun when calling the police.
Maybe it doesn't have to be a robbery. Maybe it's just someone being aggressive and threatening. If you pull your gun and the other guy calls the police, you have an uphill battle proving your innocence.

It's been a while since the OP has posted. I hope he's doing good.

Something very very wrong with this whole thing!

In Minnesota a conceal carry permit doesn't protect you if you're forced to use a weapon . Your life will be ruined whether you're at fault or do everything right. Moving back to SD is better for you and your family for many more reasons than we hat happened to you.

Here's an update:

Remember, this happened in Hennepin Country Minnesota, where George Floyd died and where the riots of 20/20 started. There was a lot of white hating going on in this area at this time and black people made it clear they were going after white people.

To those that said, get your phone out, or pull over on the side of the road. You should read the details I provided previously. There was no shoulder. It was cement barriers up to the lines on the side of the road. There were no exits for miles. I drive an old 2006 truck with no bluetooth. I have a flip phone with no voice recognition, securely lodged in my tight jean pocket where the only way to get it out would be to pull over, unbuckle, and step out of my truck to straighten my leg. My lawyer specializes in defense and literally wrote the book on veterans self defense. Also, this was not typical road rage where someone just rides your bumper or cuts you off. He was chasing us down, trapping us, trying to make us crash into the barriers for miles. This guy had a weapon and was using it to actively attack my family. It's called a 3000lb wrecking ball additionally he was flailing his arm out his window and when he got next to use and stayed window to window, he was making gun gestures through his tinted window and I thought he could have been pointing a gun at us. remember, this is 1 week after a little league coach got shot in the head in the same area and after a record year of car jackings. Just ask the people in Waukesha, WI if a vehicle is a weapon (remember the Christmas parade massacre). Anything can be a weapon if you use it to assault someone and a vehicle is about as deadly as a gun. As to what could have happened if the assaulter did get shot and loose control, it wouldn't have been any worse than me barreling through and crashing through traffic to get away from this guy. (Because that was my only other choice.) So I chose the option that had the possibility of not causing a pileup and most likely to stop the attack and obviously I made the right choice because I did not have to crash through traffic to get away, instead the assaulter decided to stop the assault when I showed force.

Now that the dust has cleared, let me share some of the messed up details that happened (I fully believe because I was in one of the most liberal, gun hating parts of the country while displaying my distain for democrats on my back window. I and everyone who knows me believes this was a political hit job, an opportunity to get a white republican gun owner.)

I have audio, but it is very bad (hard to understand) audio, of the police interviews with the attacker and my children.

When the police pulled me over, I remained calm, followed all their commands, and cooperated fully. When they brought my attacker to identify my truck, while I was in the back of the squad car, on the police audio, our attacker immediately starts shouting "You mother [bleep]" and the officer quickly tells him to stop (I'm sure because it could hurt the prosecution's case.)

Don't you think it's weird and not typical for the police to refuse to talk to me and try and find out my side or at least get me to talk so they could gather more verbal evidence. I'm pretty sure it procedure to talk to the alleged perp to get them to say as much as possible. They refuse to talk to me and had zero interest in asking me what happened. Remember, I was immediately arrested, cuffed, and secure in the back of the squad car. I was calm. Even when I tried to talk to the police, they refused to tell me what was going on or even ask what happened. I got no opportunity to talk to the police until I was officially arrested, charged, and was being hauled off to jail. Only then did they ask if I wanted to make a statement and at that point, your already arrested so nothing you can say will help you.

They know there was multiple highway cameras that would have video of the incident over miles but they had zero interest in obtaining that evidence and that evidence disappeared after I was in jail for 2 days. I requested the evidence with my lawyer the first day I was in jail and by the time he could request it, it was gone.

On the police audio, an officer asks my 9 year old if I have ever done anything like this before. My daughter tells them this was the only time, that my dad is very safe with guns, he was only protecting us, this guy was trying to run us off the road, and my dad would never point a gun at anyone unless he was protecting us. The officer decided to lie in his statement and put in the police statement that my daughter said I've done this multiple times before.

The officer also asked my daughter if she was afraid, but never asked her to clarify what she was afraid of, so my daughter says she was afraid (because of the guy attacking us and assumed the police would know what she was talking about because she had told them someone was trying to run us off the road.) instead this was used to say I caused the fear in my daughter because of drawing my firearm, which was absolutely not the case. My daughter was in fear from the guy attacking us.

The officer also made suggestion to our attacker. I have the audio for this also. The officer asked the guy how he felt when I drew my firearm. The guy says he was scared, then he laughs and says he flicked me off. Then the officer asks him if he was afraid for his life and the guy says no. The officer asks the guy why he waited so long to call the police or why he didn't drive to the police station that was close by when he pulled off the highway. The guy sits and thinks for a bit, then says, "Well I mean, what if he was just showing me the gun?" What happens next floors me. The officer says, "I highly doubt that." Leading the whiteness into what they clearly didn't think. Then the officer went on to describe tunnel vision and time slowing down and asks the guy if he got tunnel vision or time slowed down (to build more of case that he was the fearful victim). The guy surprisingly said he didn't get tunnel vision or slowed time.

Another officer was tending to my children after my 10 year old was done being questioned. My kids kept asking why this is happening to us and that our dad was just protecting us. (again, on the police audio). The officer tells my children, "I know your dad was just trying to protect you but unfortunately we can't let him do that." My kids mention multiple times that their dad would never point a gun at anyone unless he was protecting them.

When the police pulled me over they had guns full drawn, which is expected if they get a call about someone pointing a gun. Immediately I tell them I have kids in the car. Once I am secured in the squad car, I tell the officer I have a few other firearms in the vehicle and they need to secure them so my kids aren't alone with them. (I had a few rifles, including my daughters rifle cased in the vehicle because we were planning on going shooting with grandma and grandpa that day) The officer said he wasn't worried about that right now. I could only shake my head. You have me secure but when I tell him to secure the firearms in my vehicle because the kids are alone in there with them, he's not worried about that. Of coarse none of me requesting the safety for my kids is mentioned in the police report.

Additionally, on one of the body cameras, a leading Seargent that shows up at the scene can be heard telling one of his officers, "he's as hard as they come." It was very obvious that they could not picture someone in self defense, even after his children keep telling them it was self defense. all they could picture was a Trump voting gun owner they could get off the street and add another gun victory to their notch.

The guy who attacked us was inconsistent in his story and also took what he did to us and flipped it 180 to say that's what I did to him. He told the police I stayed window to window with him and would not let him get away. He told them he was afraid but then was telling then he wasn't scared, was chuckling, and flicked me off. The reason I am sharing this is so you know, when the police want a certain narrative, they will make it happen. They will ignore what needs to be ignored, lead witnesses, hide evidence, falsify statements. Their goal was to lock me up, not to find as much evidence as they could, not to find the truth. They took every word that guy said as gospel, ignored and twisted what my kids told them, and refused to even get my side.

The officers also put in their statement that I followed him to the mall and point a gun at him, which isn't even close. This all took place on highway 169 in Eden Prairie. It was all done by the time I finally got to an exit and pulled off the highway. Just another example of how things get so twisted.

Now lets move to jail and court.

In jail, I immediately called and got a lawyer and immediately told my lawyer, "You need to get that highway footage!". The next thing I did was ask the guards to work and started cleaning the jail. I had to keep myself busy. If I had truly done what they charged me with, which was 1)2nd degree felony assault with a dangerous weapon, 2) Threats of violence, 3) and later tacked on Terroristic Threats, then It wouldn't have been so hard sitting there in jail for something I actually committed. Being the actual victim and being thrown in jail really sucks.

I sat in jail for 8 days before getting to meet with the judge for the first time. When the bail hearing started, the person before me was in for his 3rd armed robbery and the judge gave him $20,000 bail with the only condition that he make his court appearances. When it was my turn with the judge, a prosecutor got on and started saying, "This man is a danger to society, he has clearly done this multiple times before (remember my kids said this was the only time to the police), a man this angry should have never been allowed to own a gun, and he did this with his children in the car, he should have never been allowed to get a carry permit, and we recommend $100,000 bail with conditional release with house arrest, no firearms, permit to carry revoked, and not to come within so many feet of Mr. N". My lawyer stated he thought the bail was a little excessive. My lawyer stated, "My client is a veteran who served in war for his country. He has no criminal record and has no previous history of violence. He is an engineer and a full time single father who will remain law abiding and make all his court appearances. I believe my lawyer mentioned $20,000 bail without conditions, like the previous career armed robber who got the same. The judge immediately said, "$100,000 with no conditions" and " $20,000 with house arrest, no firearm, and obey restraining order, and hit the gavel. Then it took another 6 days for them to release me on bail. So knowing I had no prior history and was previously a stand up, contribute to society, person who served my country and was the only one taking care of his kids, the judge went extreme bail and house arrest. Being a 100% of the time single parent on house arrest is very difficult. For 6 months, I was not allowed out into my yard, which means my kids were also on house arrest with me. We couldn't go outside the house. I couldn't check the mail or take out the garbage. I couldn't mow the lawn. I was barely allowed to take my kids to doctors appointments and attend school conferences. I was rarely allowed to go get groceries. My kids sat on house arrest with me for 6 months before the judge finally allowed me to leave the house. My kids didn't get outside for the summer and my 10 year old was starting to feel suicidal, as was I.

In some of my first hearings, my lawyer told the judge that I wanted to claim self defense. The judge stated he wasn't going to do me any favors if I wasn't willing to admit what I had done. (Clear pre-bias with this judge) Throughout the process, my lawyers informed this judge and the prosecution was particularly interested in my case. My 10 year old daughter got subpoenas to attend court with threat of jail if she did not appear to testify against me. I could not believe they threatened my daughter with jail.

Through this whole process, I did not drag my kids into it. I could have tried to prep my kids and drilled it into their brains what happened to prep them for the stand. Instead tried to minimize the damage to my kids by living as normal a life as we could and not questioning my kids to try and get them in a trial state of mind. When they would ask, I reassured them I was sorry this was happening and that the truth prevales and that this is the reason people should always be honest and have integrity. I reassured them they would always be ok. As far as my kids knew, only being 10 and 7, was that someone attacked us, daddy defended us, the police arrested daddy, now daddy is home. We can't go outside much, but we try to have fun in the house. When I told my daughter they were going to make her take the stand in court, I just told her, "Honey, you don't worry about anything. You just be honest and tell what you know. and don't be afraid. Be confident in yourself. Everything will turn out ok."

I wanted to fight this all the way to the supreme court. Knowing that the main trial would take place in Hennepin county, we all knew the card were stacked against me. My lawyers stated they weren't sure we could win as they had been polling people in minneapolis, and as soon as they heard gun and were showed my antidemocrat stickers, they said he is guilty. I asked my lawyer if we could get the trial moved to a county that was not so blatantly liberal, as there was no way I could get a fair trial in Hennepin. I was informed to do that you have to be able to prove bias with evidence. I immediately mentioned that the judge has said he wasn't going to do me any favors unless I admitted guilt and my lawyer said he knows, but you have to be able to prove the judge intended that as bias and the prosecution and judge have a hard-on for your case. (Guess why, because they saw my political stickers and knew I didn't like democrats).

A year later, it was getting close to a jury trial. My lawyers started prepping, they brought my 10 year old in to see how she could take the stand. My daughter was very depressed and upset and could not even remember all the details from the year earlier. I let them know I did not want to push her because she had been through so much almost loosing her only parent and being locked up in the house. My daughter actually wanted me to fight it even if it meant I would go to jail. I did too. I started making plans for prison and getting family in place to take care of my kids should the trial go bad. My daughter was comfortable with what I had arranged and knew that It could be a year or two without me (similar to a deployment), She just didn't want to go to court where people would grill her to try and make her dad into a monster. everyone kept telling me that typically, given being a first offense, extenuating circumstances with being the only parent for 1 of my kids and 50% with the other.

As we didn't back down and still wanted to go to trial and claim self defense, the judge let my lawyer/lawyers know that he wasn't going to allow any early release and would sentence me to the maximum 10 years in prison. As we were about to start the jury process, my lawyers begged me to take a plea and said they were pretty sure I was going to go to prison for 10 years as this county is so bias towards republicans and gun owners and the majority of a jury hear would convict. This made me so sick. I know I legitimately defended my family from an unprovoked attack. I did not instigate or perpetuate the attack, I put my firearm away as soon as he stopped attacking us and sped off. I couldn't believe I didn't have the right to defend my kids and myself. I couldn't believe the prosecution had zero interest in the truth or the full story. I couldn't believe the judge was out to get me instead of being impartial until all evidence and trial is laid out on the table. Every fiber in mean wanted to fight this to the bitter end because I am not guilty of assault. We were the ones assaulted and we are being punished for stopping the assault. against every sick feeling and twisting in my gut to fight, I took a deal. the only reason I took a deal is so my daughter would not loose her only parent for 10 years. I had to lie to the court and plead guilty to get this deal. It was gut wrenching to say I plead guilty.

I was able to get a veterans state of adjudication where I serve my 5 years of probation and I at least get to still raise my kids. I get to still vote. I had to do 100 hours of community service, take anger management, even though there was no anger involved, only fear for my family's lives. Have to get therapy in the VA, and when it's all said and done, I get my gun rights back.

Oh, the firearms that were not involved in the incident, like my daughter's rifle, are still being held by Hennepin county, even after the judge said they should be turned over to my family. They will not let them be released. So if this ever happens to you in Hennepin county, any other firearms, that had nothing to do with your self defense, will be confiscated and not returned.

The biggest thing I'm happy about is I have now moved out of that liberal craphole of Minnesota and my family is growing healthier by the week in our new home in Texas. Just moving out of Minnecaliforina did so much for my kid's mental health. In a state with normal constructional adherence, everyone who I tell my story to is like, "What the hell! you did nothing wrong!" all you were doing was stopping an attack on your family!" I can't believe they prosecuted you for that!" "Well welcome home, we like people like you here in TX."

My biggest regret out of everything I've done in my life, is moving my family to Minnesota. It is by far the worst decision I have ever made. I also can't sleep at night because of the injustice and pleading guilty eats me alive. People say, why would you ever plead guilty if your not guilty. Well, when your kid's childhood is on the line, you do it for your kids. this has affected my oldest daughter and she and I both got a lot of anger and depression that started after this happened. We were a very happy family before this.

Hopefully ya'll can learn from this, like stay out of liberal areas. They do not follow their own laws, they do not care about the constitution. They will use your kids without any thought of how they are hurting them. The courts in liberal areas are extremely bias. They do not believe you have the right to protect your family and yourself. They do not believe you have the right to protect others.

And to my angry comments in previous post, I was not angry until I got to hear what this guy said when he completely lied through his teeth. I could not believe someone would lie so bad even when he knew I had kids in the car and it was going to send me to prison. So I am allowed to think what I want, but you know what my actions were, I only used the force required to stop the threat and when the threat stopped, I stopped. I hope ya'll don't ever have to go through this hell. I still wish I could get retired in a different state or county and I still wish I could go to the supreme court. And I still wish I could sue Hennepin county for blatant whitness tampering, ignoring evidence, false police reporting, obvious bias with the judge, prosecution who doesn't care about the truth at all, and not returning property that was ordered to be returned (a different judge ordered the return of property).

Oh here's another odd thing that happened. As we were prepping for a jury trial, I was able to meet with an ex-FBI agent who also served in Vietnam. I shared everything with him and explained everything that happened in great detail. He also found it odd that the police didn't want to talk to me and did not go after the highway footage. After multiple meetings and showing him audio and other evidence. He thought I was absolutely justified in my fear of life and pulling my firearm. As we were about to start the jury process a strange thing happened. This guy disappeared and then when we finally got in contact with him he could no longer defend my and take the stand. He "changed his mind".

There was so many oddities with this case. I just kept thinking, someone is going to come to their senses and listen to all the pleas of my kids and me that we were being attacked, but it never happened.

I also never got to confront our attacker and have never seen their face.

The other guy did not call the cops right away. He went to eat, then supposedly talked to friends, then after he figured out what story he wanted to use, he called the cops over 30 minutes later. Yeah it looks bad, but my reasoning was this. There is no way in hell that guy was going to call the cops after what he did and if I call and say I had to pull my firearm, I already know I'm instantly arrested and my kids have to go through that trama. I took a chance on what I thought would mess with my kids less and underestimated the ability of a crazy guy to know when they [bleep] up and walk away. Yep he completely took what he did to use and said that's what we did to him. As I listened to the police audio of him telling the story, I couldn't believe all the lies he was saying.

I knew what I wanted so say, I was not given that opportunity to even speak to them. They would not talk to me until they were hauling me away and already fully charged and arrested me. so it wasn't "you refuse to give your side of the story to the police".

Me and my kids can 100% tell you this is no bullshit. This is real life in Minnesota. You don't have to believe me. I just hope you don't get you and your family's lives ruined because you were forced to stop an attack. you see it over and over lately, people, even on video, legitimately and legally defending themselves and being fully prosecuted by the law. Hell, in Minneapolis during the "summer of love" a veteran was defending his families store and when he was attacked, he defended himself. He was prosecuted and convicted in Hennepin and then killed himself, leaving a letter that he couldn't believe how the courts treated him for defending his life.