Saturday, August 17, 2019
YOUNGSTOWN
Instead of traveling to Texas next week for orientation at the University of Texas at Austin, Justin Olsen will be in jail.
After more than two hours of testimony at a detention hearing Friday, Magistrate Judge George Limbert determined the risk that Olsen “will endanger the safety of another person or the community” outweighs his spotless criminal record and good grades. He will remain in the Mahoning County jail.
Olsen, 18, was arraigned Monday in the Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse downtown on a federal charge of threatening a federal officer.
Operating as “Army- OfChrist” on iFunny.com, Olsen expressed support for mass shootings and advocated violence to gay bars and Planned Parenthood. In one post, he wrote, “In conclusion, shoot every federal officer on sight.”
When investigators executed a search warrant at the Oakridge Drive home of his father, Eric Olsen, they discovered 26 guns and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition.
At Friday’s hearing, Justin Olsen’s attorney, J. Gerald Ingram, emphasized the guns found belonged to Eric Olsen and were meticulously secured in a safe by a surveillance system. He also highlighted Justin Olsen’s history of nonviolence and bright future ahead. He was accepted to UT Austin on a partial ROTC scholarship.
But these factors merely underscored the deviation between Olsen’s public life and his private beliefs.
Ingram’s cross-examination of Melanie Olsen provided insight into her son’s ideology.
“I was concerned that he was developing extreme antisocial views and that he would not be able to get along well with many people,” Melanie Olsen said.
Her concern escalated to the point that local authorities said when Justin Olsen was arrested Aug. 7, his mother was glad.
Melanie Olsen tried to walk back the sentiment at her son’s detention hearing. When confronted with her quote, she responded, “Anything negative that was happening, I was glad it was caught and stopped.”
In closing, Ingram challenged the notion Justin Olsen’s posts posed a specific threat.
“There’s a very real argument that what this young man said is constitutionally protected free speech,” Ingram said.
He proposed that Olsen be restricted to his mother’s home with no access to the internet and subject to random searches.
Yasmine Makridis, an assistant U.S. attorney, revisited Justin Olsen’s response when confronted with his posts. He said he was joking.
“Nothing about this is funny,” Makridis said. “We don’t need to wait for him to hurt someone.”