Holocaust Museum Shooter Indicted; Could Face Death Penalty

James von Brunn
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James von Brunn, the white supremacist accused of shooting and killing a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum June 10, has been indicted by a grand jury on hate crimes charges which could earn him the death penalty.

Von Brunn was indicted Wednesday on seven counts, including first-degree murder and killing in a federal building (both charges had already been leveled against him) and bias-motivated crime.

Von Brunn, 89, was shot in the face by guards after he opened fire at the museum. One guard, Stephen T. Johns, was fatally wounded.

The defendant has long been a white supremacist. In 1981, he attempted to take the Federal Reserve Board hostage by brandishing a sawed-off shotgun — a crime for which he spent six years in prison. He later described the board as “treasonous.”

He’s also posted about President Obama’s birth certificate, and has promoted anti-Semitic work on Wikipedia.

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