- A man from southwestern Montana has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after being found guilty of a hate crime and firearms charges.
- The man was convicted in February and sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls.
- The charges stem from a shooting incident in March 2020, during which he threatened a woman with violent, homophobic slurs and fired shots at her house using an assault rifle.
A southwestern Montana man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after being convicted of a hate crime and firearms charges for threatening a woman with violent, homophobic slurs and shooting at her house with an assault rifle as part of a self-described “mission” to rid a small town of its LGBTQ community.
John Russell Howald of Basin was convicted in February and sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls for the March 2020 shooting.
His indictment in June 2021 — when Howald was 44 — was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s increased enforcement of hate crimes under U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“Hate crimes are especially pernicious because they harm targeted individuals and the entire community to which the individual belongs,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark said in a statement to The Associated Press at the time. “No community should live in fear because of who they are, where they are from, or what they believe, and it is our goal to make that a reality.”
After shooting into the house of a woman who is a lesbian, nearly hitting her, prosecutors said Howald started walking into town intending to target others he perceived to be lesbian, queer and gay. He was armed with two assault rifles, a hunting rifle, two pistols and multiple high-capacity magazines that were taped together to speed reloading, court records said.
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