Lansing man charged with brandishing rifle at motorcyclist during protest

LANSING — A Lansing man has been charged with brandishing a weapon during a We the Free People of Lansing protest.

Gregory Richardson, 43, is accused of brandishing a rifle June 17 at a motorcyclist as the man tried to get through the intersection of East Michigan and Foster avenues, which is where protesters were at the time, according to video of the incident. 

Richardson turned himself in to police Thursday and was arraigned on one count of brandishing a firearm in public. He was released on a personal recognizance bond. 

Richardson's attorney, Lucas Dillon, said Richardson is not affiliated with We the Free People of Lansing. Protesters reached out to a pro-Second Amendment group Richardson is a member of and asked for security. On June 17, Richardson was acting as a security guard for the group. 

Dillon said the statute for brandishing a weapon lines up pretty accurately with the facts of the case. The one difference is that the statute specifies it is not illegal if acting in defense of others. That's what Richardson was doing, he said. 

"He's not going to let a motorcycle ride through a crowd of people," Dillon said. "He's never done anything wrong in his life...He's a family man who supports the Second Amendment." 

Dillon hopes they will be able to resolve the case through a diversion program. 

Video shows a group of protesters lined up on Michigan Avenue as a man on a motorcycle stops at the intersection. He is on the north side of the intersection on Foster Avenue; the protesters are lined up east of him. 

"You're not going this way. This way is not an option," protest leader Paul Birdsong said, according to the video. 

Another man says: "If you're going to run us over, I'm going to protect my crowd." It is unclear if Richardson or another man with a rifle said this. The video shows Richardson pointing his rifle at the motorcyclist; the other man has his rifle angled to the ground. 

"You can't ride anywhere in this direction," Birdsong said. "The problem is, we told you to stop and you revved your engine." 

The motorcyclist argues with the group of protesters. He said one of the two men with a rifle "took the safety off." It's not clear in the video if the safety was off. 

The original video appears to have been removed from Facebook. 

Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.