Indictment in Family Research Council Shooting Doesn't Include Hate Charges
The man accused of shooting and wounding an employee at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., last week has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Some had speculated that the suspect, Floyd Lee Corkins II of Herndon, Va., would be charged with a hate crime or domestic terrorism, but he was not charged with either crime, the Washington Times reports. He was indicted on three charges, according to the Times, CNN and the Washington Post. The charges are: assault with intent to kill while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition.
A witness told authorities that Corkins said something to the effect “I don’t like your politics” before pulling the gun from his backpack, the stories say. The Family Research Council is a conservative group that supported the president of Chick-fil-A when he said he advocates marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Corkins’ parents told investigators their son has strong opinions about those who, in his opinion, don’t treat gays fairly. He had ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backback when he was arrested.
CNN describes the shooting victim, Leo Johnson, as a building manager, while the Post and the Washington Times say he is a security guard. Johnson managed to wrestle the gun away from the suspect even though he was wounded in the arm. Johnson has been released from the hospital but has not returned to work, a Family Research Council spokesman told the Post.
