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A white Mississippi woman who brandished a gun at an African-American couple who were picnicking at a campground she was working at has been found guilty after being hit with a misdemeanor charge.
According to the Clarion Ledger, the Oktibbeha County Justice Court, on Tuesday, found 70-year-old Ruby Nell Howell guilty of threatening exhibition of a weapon and subsequently fined $250. She was also ordered to pay $182.50 in court fees. She will, however, not serve any jail time.
The May incident, which occurred at the Kampgrounds of America in Oktibbeha County where Howell was an employee, resulted in her being fired after the video of what transpired went viral on social media.
Narrating the incident to WCBI, the couple, Jessica and Franklin Richardson, said Howell, who was very hostile during the confrontation, told them they needed a reservation before using the campground which they were unaware of. The woman subsequently told them to leave, however, all that transpired while she was holding a gun and pointing it at them.
“She jumped out and the gun was pointed at me, my husband, and our dog. It was just pointing at us. One finger was on the trigger and one finger was on the lever of the revolver,” Jessica Richardson said.
“She was just like, ‘get, get, you don’t belong here, you don’t belong here, you don’t belong here.’”
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She added that it was needless for Howell to brandish a gun at them as they didn’t pose a threat.
“Time stopped. Everything stopped. I was confused as to what was going on. It’s not like we posed a threat to anybody out there walking our dog. There’s nothing harmful about that,” she said.
“The fact that she used ‘get, get’ like we were a dog. You say get, get to a stray dog that’s on your porch. That ‘get, get’ got to me more than ‘you don’t belong here.’”
Jessica also said that while on their way out of the campground, they spoke with Howell’s husband who told them they actually did not need a reservation.
“I get out and start talking to him. The first thing he says is ‘Oh, you don’t need a reservation for the lake.’ Then she pulls up flying, hops out the car, then proceeded to yell at my wife ‘get in the car, you need to get back in the car,’ just cussing her out and she’s not even saying anything,” she said.
After Howell was fired, the spokesman for Kampgrounds of America, Mike Gast told the Associated Press the organization “does not condone the use of a firearm in any manner” on its properties or franchises.
Take a look at the incident below:
