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Von Brunn Charged with Murder
Friday, June 12, 2009 at 5:50AM 
White Supremacist, James Wenneker Von Brunn, 88, was charged with the murder of Steven Tyrone Johns, 39, in what was a hate-filled, racially-motivated, anti-Semitic attack at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC on June 10, 2009. In addition to the Murder in the First Degree charge, Von Brunn was also charged with Killing in the Course of Possession of a Firearm in a Federal Facility. If convicted Von Brunn could face the death penalty.
"This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world." said U.S. President Barack Obama.
Thirty million people have visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, located on the National Mall at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W. Washington D.C. 20024, since it opened in 1993. The following message was displayed on its website:
The Museum expresses gratitude for the outpouring of support and messages of condolence we have received from our Museum community, President Obama, and concerned citizens and organizations across the country and around the world. Today our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Officer Stephen Johns, who died heroically in the line of duty on June 10th protecting our visitors and staff. Despite our grief and outrage we will reopen our doors on Friday June 12, and every day after, with a renewed commitment to the urgency of our mission.
Steven Johns was the security guard at the museum who had opened the door for the approaching James Von Brunn, only to be greeted with a gunshot from the .22 caliber rifle he was carrying. The bullet hit Johns in the chest. Two other guards at the facility upon seeing what happened, returned fire and struck Von Brunn in the face. Von Brunn was taken to hospital in critical condition. Johns was killed on the scene. Spent cartridges reveal Von Brunn fired three shots and the officers fired eight.
Von Brunn's Internet writings say the Holocaust was a hoax. "At Auschwitz the 'Holocaust' myth became Reality, and Germany, cultural gem of the West, became a pariah among world nations," he wrote.
Shortly after the shootout police searched the 2002 red Hyundai with Maryland license plate number 6BVR16, registered to Von Brunn, which was doubled-parked in front of the museum. Inside they found a notebook with a hand-written note saying:
"You want my weapons - this is how you'll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do. Jews captured America's money. Jews control the mass media. The 1st Amendment is abrogated - henceforth. See: holywesternempire.org. JVB swore (LT UNSR) to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Jews - Bolsheviks - Zionist are America's enemies. See: Talmud - Sanhedrin "Kill the Best Gentiles!"
At the end of the above writings appears the signature "James W. Von Brunn."
Von Brunn lived at 616 Admiral Drive, Annapolis, Maryland 21401 with his son Erik Von Brunn, and Brandy Teel, his son's girlfriend. Police searched the apartment where they found more .22 caliber ammunition and a 30/30 rifle. Ledgers, journals and manuscripts were also recovered.
Von Brunn is a native of St. Louis, a World War II veteran who served in the Navy, worked in advertising in New York City and moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore in the late 1960s, where he stayed in advertising and tried to make a mark as an artist.
Public records show that in 2004 and 2005 he lived briefly in Hayden, Idaho, for years home to the Aryan Nations, a racist group run by neo-Nazi Richard Butler.
He was sentenced in 1983 for attempted armed kidnapping and other charges in his 1981 bid to seize Fed board members. A guard captured him outside the room where the board was meeting. He had a revolver, sawed-off shotgun and knife in a bag with him. He served more than six years in prison.
Steven Tyrone Johns leaves behind his 11-year-old son Steven Jr. and his mother Jacqueline Carter who said she feels like she's stuck in a bad nightmare. "It's the hardest thing I think any mother can go through."
Johns, a diehard Redskins fan, lived in Temple Hills in Maryland. He graduated in 1988 from the Crossland High School in Temple Hills. He had worked at the museum for six years and "died in the line of duty", the museum said.
"If you had to pick someone who exuded caring and seeing the best in people, that was him," said Bill Parsons, chief of staff at the museum. "He was terrific at it. He was this big guy with a big smile. If we ever had a football team, he would have been one of our linebackers."
"He was a big guy with a big heart," said Milton Talley, 44, a former colleague of Johns. "He'd do anything for the visitors that came to the museum."
Johns worked for Wackenhut Security. A union official says he asked for protective vests for guards at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum two years ago, but they never got them. He said he pushed for protective vests after a man made threatening remarks to guards several years ago.
Union district director Assane Faye says the company that employs the guards never issued the vests. Wackenhut Security would say only that all officers were wearing appropriate equipment as specified in their contract.
Mayor of Washington D.C. Adrian M. Fenty said the capital was still an "open and safe" place for tourists. Speaking at a news conference outside the museum, he said the quick response by police to apprehend von Brunn "literally saved the lives of countless people."
Jacqueline Carter, talking about her son, put it this way:
"I'm glad that people think it was heroic, and I think it was too, but I would much rather have him alive."
