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James von Brunn, Holocaust Museum Shooter, Indicted on 7 Counts

by Jarrett Martineau | July 30, 2009 at 10:37 am

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James Wenneker Von Brunn, the man accused of killing security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns during a shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in June, has been indicted by a federal grand on seven counts, including murder and hate crimes charges.

James Wenneker Von Brunn has been charged with the murder of Stephen Tyrone Johns and has been charged with hate crimes violations for his ties to the white supremacist movement.

Brunn could face life in prison if he is convicted and four of the seven charges could result in the death penalty.

James von Brunn was previously incarcerated for 6 1/2 years on treason charges, for storming the US Federal Reserve in 1981.

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia charged James Wenneker Von Brunn with the murder of Stephen Tyrone Johns, an African-American who had served as a special police officer at the museum for six years when he was fatally shot on June 10. The indictment also charges Von Brunn with federal civil rights and hate crimes violations, and offenses under the District’s murder, firearms and hate-crimes statutes.

Prosecutors say Von Brunn had acted alone but has connections to the white supremacist movement and maintained “a website that espoused hatred against various groups and government entities.”

Von Brunn’s indictment had been postponed because he was in a D.C. hospital recuperating from gunshot wounds received during the incident.