A Michigan judge decided Wednesday that there is enough evidence to send to trial a man who shot an elderly pro-life woman who was canvassing against abortion at his home.
“It’s clear to me that Mr. [Richard] Harvey did fire a warning shot to send a message to Ms. [Joan] Jacobsen, and then he also shot her,” Judge Raymond Voet said, according to a local outlet. “Thankfully he didn’t kill or paralyze her considering how close it was to her spine. We’re lucky that no one was more seriously hurt.
Authorities arraigned 74-year-old Richard Harvey on September 30 and charged him with felonious assault (assault with a dangerous weapon), carless discharge of a weapon causing injury and reckless use of a firearm, Michigan State Police said.
His next hearing date is set for November 8, according to a local Michigan outlet. It is not immediately clear whether Harvey was politically motivated when he shot 84-year-old Joan Jacobson. Critics have pointed out that he described Jacobson to a 911 dispatcher as a “right-wing nut.”
