Joan Jacobson
84-year-old Joan Jacobson went house to house in Michigan to talk to voters about the absolutely abhorent abortion law called Proposal 3 that will be decided in the November elections.
Jacobson is a pro-life activist.
She was shot in the back by a Michigan man after leaving his home.
Patty McMurray wrote more on the shooting at 100 Percent Fed Up.
Richard Harvey shot Joan Jacobson in the back.
Richar
Right to Life Michigan has more on the shooting.
Richard and Sharon Harvey of Odessa Township claiming Mr. Harvey pulled his gun on the victim while she was peacefully canvassing to vote “no” on Proposal 3. Mr. Harvey said he accidentally pulled the trigger.
Anna Visser, Right to Life of Michigan Communications Director, said, “No one should fear violence while peacefully exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech. This 84-year old woman is hardly imposing, standing about 5-feet tall. The idea that shooting this woman is at all excusable is a dangerous claim for Americans across the country who engage in peaceful door-to-door canvassing.”
The Michigan State Police investigation into the shooting of the volunteer is ongoing. While Mr. and Mrs. Harvey publicly claim the shooting was an “accident,” Sharon Harvey’s public social media posts raise questions about the motive. Mrs. Harvey’s Facebook page reveals very strong opinions on abortion, the issue the volunteer was canvassing about, and vitriol for prolifers and anyone who disagrees with her. Her extensive history of demonstrated hatred for people who disagree with her draws her account into question.
As of this release Sharon Harvey’s Facebook profile is still accessible publicly.
Richard Harvey shot 84-year-old Joan Jacobson in the back with a shotgun.
Harvey did not offer Jacobson help after he shot her. He did not offer to drive her to the hospital. The 84-year-old woman drove herself to the police station.
The Guardian reported:
According to investigators, the woman who was shot was volunteering with an organization named Right to Life and going door-to-door asking voters to oppose Michigan’s protecting abortion rights during a ballot measure in November when she went to Harvey’s home near Lake Odessa on 20 September.
Harvey later told the local television news station WOOD that the woman, Joan Jacobson, was arguing with his wife, who supports abortion rights. The couple told Jacobson she was trespassing and she should leave, but Jacobson refused, according to what Harvey told WOOD.
Harvey eventually emerged from a barn at his home with a .22-caliber rifle belonging to his wife, aimed at a pine tree out front and fired a warning shot. Then, “without thinking”, he said, he tried to use the rifle to “club” away a clipboard that the volunteer was holding, fearing she would hit Harvey’s wife with it.
According to Harvey, one of his fingers accidentally pulled the rifle’s trigger, and the ensuing shot hit the volunteer in the right shoulder.
“It went off,” Harvey said of the rifle he had pulled. “It was an accident.”
Jacobson received medical treatment for her wound after driving herself to a nearby police department. She told WOOD that she was peaceful throughout the confrontation with Harvey and his wife, Sharon. Jacobson said she was walking away when she was alarmed to see Harvey coming up to her while holding a rifle.
“The thing that I noticed the most was that he had a gun, and it was a big gun,” Jacobson said to WOOD. “It was [a] long barrel and by the time that registered in my brain, I heard a shot and I felt some pain.”
Authorities did not immediately charge Harvey with a crime. But that changed after an investigation from Michigan state police and the Ionia county prosecutor’s office.
The most serious of the charges against Harvey was felonious assault, which can carry up to four years in prison upon conviction.