GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – Police say an 84-year-old man faces three counts of misdemeanor simple assault and pointing a firearm at another after aiming a gun at a group of anti-President Barack Obama protesters.
On September 28, protesters gathered on the Steve Reynolds Overpass above Interstate 85 as part of the Overpasses for Obama’s Impeachment movement, a national movement that displays anti-Obama signs on interstate overpasses. Two of those protesters, Toni Pendley and Marge Moore, said that Ray Smith (pictured above) allegedly drove by in a maroon car and pointed a gun at them.
“He was looking straight at me,” Pendley told a local reporter.
Another witness spotted the gun and called 911, and gave the police the license tag number. Detectives subsequently tracked down Smith at his Norcross home. A police report states that although Smith wasn’t home when they arrived, his car was in the driveway and officers found the handgun matching the description in the driver’s side door.
Smith reportedly stated “he kept the weapon in the vehicle for the carjackers.” He also allegedly admitted to having the gun with him on the day in question but denied pointing it at protesters. According to the police report, Smith stated that “everyone was lying on him in an attempt to get him into trouble.”
“Not your typical suspect,” said Gwinnett Police Cpl. Ed Ritter. “Doesn’t matter what his age was, he still threatened somebody with that gun and he is being held accountable for it.”
Smith is free on $1,000 bond.
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