On July 25th, 2020, Samuel Young published a wild manifesto painting a picture of himself fighting against the Nazis. He plugged Antifa, left-wing Youtuber Vaush, and praised the armed wing of the Kurdish Marxist PKK/PYD.
The very next day, he was part of a violent riot in Aurora, Colorado. The riot had been pre-planned by Black Lives Matter and Antifa-linked militant groups. The rioters stormed onto a major interstate and blocked traffic. When a Jeep with four passengers tried to drive around the rioters, Young pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot the car.
Instead, Young shot two of his fellow rioters. He hit one person in the leg and another in the head. The man shot in the head was seriously injured.
He was arrested and charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder. The evidence seems clear. Young promoted a fantasy world view that Nazis were about to take over America and had to be stopped at all costs. He went to an event that he knew would turn into a riot. He brought a loaded gun to the event and looked for any reason to pull out that gun and start shooting people.
The driver of the Jeep was cleared of any wrongdoing despite a campaign by left-wing militants and some local media outlets to have him charged.
Now, on the eve of his trial, Young is only facing a wrist slap. Prosecutors threw out his four counts of attempted first-degree murder. Now he only faces four counts of attempted reckless manslaughter, two counts of assault, and a weapons violation. Young pleaded not guilty and plans to argue that he was justified in trying to shot people in the Jeep.
Attempted first-degree murder carries a penalty of 16-48 years in Colorado. The sentence for attempted reckless manslaughter is 0-3 years.
Last January, John Keller, was sworn in as the new District Attorney over Aurora and a surrounding three-county area.
Local media have treated Young with absolute kid gloves, and in some cases, agitated against the innocent victims who were inside the Jeep.
Of course!