United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting

The Holocaust Museum has previously been a target of white supremacist terrorism since its establishment in 1993. In 2002, two white supremacists plotted to attack the museum using a fertilizer bomb, though their plan was foiled after their arrest.

At about 12:49 p.m., 88-year-old James von Brunn{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shooting-suspect-wrote-of-holocaust-hoax/|title=Shooting Suspect Wrote Of "Holocaust Hoax"|last=Condon|first=Stephanie|date=2009-06-10|publisher=CBS News|access-date=2009-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613021802/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/10/national/main5078816.shtml|archive-date=2009-06-13|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6473316.ece|title=White supremacist James W Von Brunn opens fire at Holocaust museum|date=2009-06-10|work=The Times|access-date=2009-06-10|location=London|first=Tim|last=Reid|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106035554/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6473316.ece|archive-date=2010-01-06|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105207253|title=Gunman Shoots, Kills Guard At Holocaust Museum|date=2009-06-10|work=National Public Radio|access-date=2009-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614042150/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105207253|archive-date=2009-06-14|url-status=live}} drove his car to the 14th Street entrance of the museum.{{cite news |first=Ashley |last=Halsey III |author2=Paul Duggan |title=Was He Capable of This? Yes. |date=2009-06-11 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061101086.html |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=2009-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108074213/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061101086.html |archive-date=2012-11-08 |url-status=live }} Von Brunn entered the museum when Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns opened the door for him.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_holocaust_museum_guard_.html|title='Obama created by Jews': Holocaust Museum shooting suspect James von Brunn's chilling racist note|author=Sisk, Richard|author2=Schapiro, Richard|date=2009-06-11|work=Daily News|access-date=2009-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614035805/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_holocaust_museum_guard_.html|archive-date=2009-06-14|url-status=live}} Authorities said he raised a Winchester Model 1906 .22-caliber rifle{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/ap_on_re_us/us_holocaust_museum_shooting|title=Elderly gunman kills guard at Holocaust Museum|last=Syeed|first=Nafeesa|author2=Epso, David |date=2009-06-10|agency=Associated Press|work=Yahoo! News|access-date=2009-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613020706/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/ap_on_re_us/us_holocaust_museum_shooting |archive-date=2009-06-13}} and shot Special Police Officer Johns once in the upper torso; Johns later died of his injuries at the George Washington University Hospital. Two other Special Police Officers stationed with Officer Johns, Harry Weeks and Jason "Mac" McCuiston, then exchanged fire with von Brunn, wounding him with a shot to the face.{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/2009/06/guard_who_shot_von_brunn_is_re.html?hpid=topnews|title=Guards Who Stopped Von Brunn Were Retired Cop, Ex-Marine|date=2009-06-12|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2009-06-13}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} According to police officers at the scene, a third person was injured by broken glass but refused treatment at the hospital.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/10/museum.shooting/index.html|title=Shooting reported at Holocaust Museum in Washington|date=2009-06-10|publisher=CNN|access-date=2009-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613062201/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/10/museum.shooting/index.html|archive-date=2009-06-13|url-status=live}}

In total, 11 shots were fired during the incident (three from von Brunn and eight from Weeks and McCuiston).{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-06-12-0906110718-story.html|title=Suspect in museum killing had an agenda, police say|website=Chicago Tribune|date=12 June 2009 }}

File:Stephen Tyrone Johns.JPG

The Washington Post reported that "if it weren't for the quick response of the private guards on duty, more people could have been killed or wounded." Mayor Adrian Fenty stated that the officers' efforts "to bring this gunman down so quickly ... saved the lives of countless people... This could have been much, much worse."{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061103848_pf.html|title=Fast Action By Guards Saved Lives, Officials Say|last=Davenport|first=Christian|date=2009-06-12|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2009-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108075051/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061103848_pf.html|archive-date=2012-11-08|url-status=live}} Inside, the museum was crowded with visiting schoolchildren. Museum officials said that "the entire incident unfolded in approximately two minutes."{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gunman-opens-fire-inside-holocaust-museum-kills-security-guard/|title=Gunman Opens Fire Inside Holocaust Museum, Kills Security Guard|date=June 10, 2009|publisher=Fox News|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527083145/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/10/gunman-opens-inside-holocaust-museum-kills-security-guard/|archive-date=May 27, 2010}}

After the shooting, the nearby U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the USDA's Sidney R. Yates Federal Building were closed.{{cite web|url=http://www.scpr.org/blogs/kitty-felde/2009/06/11/bad-day-museum/|title=A Bad Day at the Museum|last=Felde|first=Kitty|date=June 11, 2009|publisher=Southern California Public Radio|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603235527/http://www.scpr.org/blogs/kitty-felde/2009/06/11/bad-day-museum/|archive-date=June 3, 2011}} Portions of 14th Street and Independence Avenue in the Southwest quadrant were closed until later in the night.{{cite news|title=Street Closures Affiliated with Holocaust Museum Shooting|url=http://dcist.com/2009/06/street_closures_affiliated_with_hol.php|last=Mathis|first=Sommer|date=2009-06-10|publisher=DCist|access-date=2009-06-12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614234429/http://dcist.com/2009/06/street_closures_affiliated_with_hol.php|archive-date=2009-06-14}} The car driven by von Brunn was found double-parked in front of the museum and tested for explosives.{{cite news |title=Guard dies after Holocaust museum shooting |date=2009-06-11 |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31208188 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2009-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011163702/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/31208188/ |archive-date=2013-10-11 |url-status=live }}

Police said they found a notebook on von Brunn that contained a list of District locations, including the Washington National Cathedral; they dispatched bomb squads to at least 10 sites.{{cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.shooting11jun11,0,2162870.story|title=Maryland man held in Holocaust museum attack|author=Meyer, Josh|author3=Oliphant, James|author2=Zajaz, Andrew |date=2009-06-11|work=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2009-06-11}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} The notebook also contained this passage, signed by von Brunn: "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."

The FBI and Washington, D.C. police chief Cathy L. Lanier said that it appeared von Brunn was acting alone at the time of the shooting, and the FBI said it had no knowledge of any threat against the museum.{{cite web|url=http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=1693510|title=Gunman, guards exchange fire in D.C. Museum|date=2009-06-10|publisher=WTOP-FM|access-date=2009-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109061421/http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25|archive-date=2011-01-09|url-status=dead}}{{cite press release|url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/washingtondc/press-releases/2009/wfo061009-1.htm|title=Statement Regarding Shooting at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.|date=June 10, 2009|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|access-date=June 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710153014/https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/washingtondc/press-releases/2009/wfo061009-1.htm|archive-date=July 10, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} The museum's director of security said they receive threats, but "nothing this significant recently".{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-holocaust-museum,1,85556.story|title=Holocaust Museum has attracted anti-Semitism, hatred from its inception|author=Frommer, Frederic J.|date=2002-07-26|agency=Associated Press|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2009-06-14 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615002329/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-holocaust-museum,1,85556.story |archive-date=2009-06-15}}

Present at the museum during the shooting was former United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen, awaiting his wife Janet Langhart; the two were at the museum for the premiere of Langhart's one-act play, Anne and Emmett. The play imagines a conversation between two teenagers, Nazi victim Anne Frank and Jim Crow victim Emmett Till. Her play was to be presented in honor of the eightieth anniversary of Anne Frank's birth.{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/06/67959221/1|author=Grossman, Cathy Lynn|title=Tragedy at the Holocaust museum and giving voice to the slain|date=2009-06-10|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=2009-06-11|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709082639/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/06/67959221/1|archive-date=2012-07-09|url-status=live}}

Several news agencies have noted the timing of the June 10 shooting; it came shortly after Obama's June 5 visit to and speech at the Buchenwald concentration camp,{{cite news|url=http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7015471394|title=Less Than A Week After Obama's Buchenwald Visit, House Passes Resolution Condemning Holocaust Shooting|last=Alingod|first=Kris|date=2009-06-12|publisher=All Headline News|access-date=2009-06-17}}{{dead link|date=June 2014}} and that "President Obama’s recent visit to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, in Germany, may have set off the shooter."{{cite news|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0906/S00175.htm|title=Shooting in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC|last=Lawn|first=Connie|date=2009-06-17|publisher=Scoop|access-date=2009-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618100335/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0906/S00175.htm|archive-date=2009-06-18|url-status=live}}

On his website, von Brunn stated that his conviction in the 1980s was by "a Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys" and that he was "sentenced to prison for eleven years by a Jew judge." A Court of Appeals denied his appeal.

Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns (October 4, 1969 – June 10, 2009), a Temple Hills, Maryland native, was an employee of Wackenhut who was, at the time of the shooting, stationed at the door of the museum when von Brunn entered with a .22 caliber long rifle and shot him. He later died at the George Washington University Hospital. His funeral was held on June 19, 2009, at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, with 2,000 attendees,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900532.html|title=Grieving for 'Another Victim of an Evil ... Mentality'|author=Keith L. Alexander and Hamil R. Harris|newspaper=Washington Post|date=June 20, 2009|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803123829/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900532.html|archive-date=August 3, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} and he was subsequently interred. The American Jewish Committee established a memorial fund for the family.{{cite web|url=http://archive.jta.org/2009/06/11/news-opinion/the-telegraph/ajc-sets-up-fund-for-family-of-officer-johns|title=AJC sets up fund for family of Officer Johns |author=Eric Fingerhut|agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=June 11, 2009}}

{{Infobox criminal

| subject_name = James von Brunn

| image_name = James von Brunn.jpg

| image_size =

| image_caption = Mug shot of von Brunn taken in 2009

| birth_name = James Wenneker von Brunn

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|7|11}}

| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|01|06|1920|7|11}}

| death_place = Butner, North Carolina, U.S.

| alias =

| conviction = Burglary, assault, weapons charges, and attempted kidnapping

| conviction_penalty = Imprisonment of six and a half years

| conviction_status = Deceased

| occupation = Advertising executive and producer, author

}}

Von Brunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the first of two children. His father was a native of Houston, Texas, and a superintendent at the Scullin Steel Mill in Houston during World War II. His mother was a piano teacher and homemaker.

Von Brunn enrolled in Washington University in St. Louis in August 1938, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in journalism in April 1943. During his time at the university, von Brunn was said to have been president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter, and a varsity football player.{{cite news|url=http://www.studlife.com/news/holocaust-museum-gunman-a-wu-graduate-university-confirms-1.1761705|title=Holocaust Museum gunman a WU graduate, University confirms|last1=Zhao|first1=Kat|last2=Stein|first2= Perry|date=2009-06-11|newspaper=Student Life|access-date=2009-06-11}} He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1957, and was the commanding officer of PT boat 159 during the Pacific Theatre of World War II, receiving a commendation and three battle stars.{{cite news|url=http://www.lyonresearch.com/html/james_von_brunn_military_recor.html|title=James von Brunn Military Records|publisher=Lyon Research|access-date=2009-06-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615115401/http://www.lyonresearch.com/html/james_von_brunn_military_recor.html|archive-date=2009-06-15}}{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_re_us/us_holocaust_museum_shooting |title=Holocaust museum closed for day to mark shooting |last1=Woodward |first1=Calvin |last2=Syeed |first2=Nafeesa |date=2009-06-11 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Yahoo! News |access-date=2009-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614113640/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_re_us/us_holocaust_museum_shooting |archive-date=June 14, 2009 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/06/navy_shooting_suspect_061109w/|title=Museum shooting suspect was WWII PT boat CO|last=Ewing|first=Phillip|date=2009-06-11|newspaper=Navy Times|access-date=2009-06-11}} Von Brunn had worked as an advertising executive and producer in New York City for twenty years. In the late 1960s, he relocated to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he continued to do advertising work and resumed painting.

In the years after the war, numerous people who were associated with Von Brunn said that he regularly complained that the United States had fought on the wrong side in the Second World War. Terry Martin, a William Woods art professor who met Von Brunn, said:

"He said he fought for the wrong side. He said everything in this country wasn’t what he fought for; everything was upside down. He didn't like minorities."{{Cite web |last=Ganey |first=Terry |title=Suspect made ‘idealized’ art |url=https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/local/2009/07/19/suspect-made-idealized-art/21562602007/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Columbia Daily Tribune |language=en-US}}

Von Brunn's arrest history dates back at least as far as the mid-1960s. In 1968, he received a six-month jail sentence in Maryland for fighting with a sheriff during an incident at the county jail.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/articles/vonbrunn101268.html|title=6-Month Term Imposed For Hitting Md. Sherrif [sic] |date=1968-10-12|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2009-06-17}} He had earlier been arrested for driving under the influence following an altercation at a local restaurant in 1966.{{cite news | first1=Michael E. | last1=Ruane | first2= Paul |last2=Duggan|first3= Clarence |last3=Williams | title=At a Monument of Sorrow, A Burst of Deadly Violence | date=2009-06-11 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061001768.html | newspaper =The Washington Post | access-date = 2009-06-13 }}

Von Brunn was arrested in 1981 for attempted kidnapping{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/11/holocaust-museum-shooting-washington|title=Death and the Holocaust museum|last=Silverstein|first=Richard|date=2009-06-11|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2009-06-11 | location=London}} and hostage-taking{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/archive/Who-is-James-Wenneker-von-Brunn.html|title=Who is James Wenneker von Brunn?|last1=Iovino|first1=Jim |first2=Michael |last2=Clancy|date=2009-06-10|publisher=NBC New York|access-date=2010-08-05}} of members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors after approaching the Federal Reserve's Eccles Building armed with a revolver, knife, and sawed-off shotgun.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6473316.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106035554/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6473316.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 6, 2010|title=White supremacist James W Von Brunn opens fire at Holocaust museum|date=2009-06-10|work=The Times|access-date=2009-06-10 | location=London | first=Tim | last=Reid}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/11shoot.html?hpw|last=Stout|first= David|title=Security Guard Is Killed in Shooting at Holocaust Museum in D.C. |date=2009-06-10|work=The New York Times|access-date=2009-06-10}} Von Brunn later described his actions as a "citizen's arrest for treason." He reportedly complained of "high interest rates" during the incident and was disarmed without any shots being fired, after threatening a security guard with a .38 caliber pistol.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/08/us/suspect-is-seized-in-capital-in-threat-at-federal-reserve.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FH%2FHostages|title=Suspect is seized in Capital in threat at Federal Reserve|date=1981-12-08|work=United Press International|publisher=The New York Times|access-date=2009-06-10}} He reportedly claimed he had a bomb, which was found to be only a device designed to look like a bomb.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AeoTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6019,2918849&dq=james+brunn+federal+reserve|title=Interest rate has man ready to blast Fed|date=1981-12-08|agency=Associated Press|publisher=The Ledger|pages=5A|access-date=2009-06-10}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} He was convicted in 1983 for burglary, assault, weapons charges, and attempted kidnapping. Von Brunn's sentence was completed by September 15, 1989,{{cite web|url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp|title=Inmate Locator|work=Federal Bureau of Prisons|access-date=2009-06-10|archive-date=2013-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911025627/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp|url-status=dead}} after he had served six and a half years in prison.{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Turque |title=Museum Shooter's Son Condemns Father's Violence |date=2009-06-13 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/13/AR2009061301326.html?hpid=moreheadlines |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2009-06-14}} After he was released he successfully tested for and joined Mensa International; however, he was eventually dropped from membership for failing to pay his annual dues.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124473804792306689 |title=Them Jews |first=James |last=Taranto |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=2009-06-11 |access-date=2009-06-12}}

Von Brunn was a member of the American Friends of the British National Party, a group that raised funds in the United States for the far right and "rights for whites" British National Party (BNP). The group had been addressed on at least two occasions by Nick Griffin, an ex-member of the National Front and chairman of the BNP.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/11/holocaust-museum-shooting-bnp-von-brunn|title=Suspect in US Holocaust museum guard killing has links to BNP|date=2009-06-12|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2009-06-12 | location=London | first=Matthew | last=Taylor}} A BNP spokesperson claimed after the shooting that the party had "never heard of" von Brunn.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6481475.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011171504/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6481475.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 11, 2011|newspaper=Times Online|title=White supremacist gunman James W. von Brunn had links to BNP|first=Kaya|last=Burgess|date=12 June 2009|access-date=12 June 2009 | location=London}}

In 2004 and 2005 he lived in Hayden Lake, Idaho, the town where Aryan Nations—a neo-Nazi organization led by Richard Butler—was based until 2001. Von Brunn was living in Annapolis, Maryland at the time of the incident.

After the shooting, federal authorities raided his apartment and seized a rifle, ammunition, computers, a handwritten will, and a painting of Jesus Christ standing adjacent to Adolf Hitler.{{cite news|url=http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/061709_art_of_hitler_jesus_in_von_brunns_home|title=Art of Hitler, Jesus in von Brunn's Home|date=2010-02-24|publisher=myfoxdc.com|access-date=2010-02-25}} The FBI also stated it discovered child pornography on one of the seized computers.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061802237.html?hpid=topnews|title=Child Porn Found on Computer Of Shooting Suspect, Court Told|last=Wilber|first=Del Quintin|date=2009-06-19|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2009-06-19}}

Von Brunn was charged in federal court on June 11, 2009, with first-degree murder and firearms violations; he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.{{cite news |url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/us-von-brunn61109cmp.html|title=Criminal Complaint (U.S v. James Wenneker von Brunn)|date=2009-06-11|work=FindLaw|access-date=2009-06-11}} On July 29, 2009, von Brunn was indicted on seven counts, including four which made him eligible for the death penalty.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/29/ST2009072902450.html|title=Holocaust Museum Shooter Indicted on First-Degree Murder|last=Wilber|first=Del Quentin|date=2009-07-29|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2009-07-30}} In September 2009, a judge ordered von Brunn to undergo a competency evaluation to determine whether or not he could stand trial.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/us/29brfs-SHOOTINGSUSP_BRF.html|title=North Carolina: Shooting Defendant Is Transferred |date=2009-09-28|agency=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|pages=A23|access-date=2009-09-29}}

Von Brunn had the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID# 07128-016 and was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina."[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=jAMES&Middle=&LastName=von+Brunn&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 James Wenneker Von Brunn]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172135/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=jAMES&Middle=&LastName=von+Brunn&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 Archive]) Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on January 6, 2010. On January 6, 2010, von Brunn died in a hospital located near the prison.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8444654.stm |title=US Holocaust museum murder suspect dies aged 89 |date=January 6, 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 7, 2010 }} According to a statement by his attorney, von Brunn had "a long history of poor health," including sepsis and chronic congestive heart failure.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/us/07vonbrunn.html| title=J. W. von Brunn, Accused Museum Gunman, Dies at 89| newspaper=New York Times| page=B19| date=January 7, 2010}}

file:Holocaust Museum flag at half-staff.jpg

The Israeli embassy in Washington condemned the attack. U.S. President Barack Obama said, "This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms."{{cite news|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/06/10/holocaust-museum-shooting|title=On the Holocaust Museum Shooting|date=2009-06-10|work=whitehouse.gov}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8094076.stm|title=US Holocaust museum guard killed|date=June 11, 2009|work=BBC News|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612022651/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8094076.stm|archive-date=June 12, 2009|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}

The Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League, and FBI stated they had been monitoring von Brunn's Internet postings, but were unable to take action because his comments had not crossed the line from free speech into illegal threats or incitement.{{cite news|title=Investigators in Holocaust museum shooting continue to look for clues|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-holocaust-shooting12-2009jun12,0,7406829.story|last=Meyer|first=Josh|date=June 12, 2009|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614083006/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-holocaust-shooting12-2009jun12,0,7406829.story|archive-date=June 14, 2009|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|title=Southern Poverty Law Center Had Monitored Museum Shooting Suspect|url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/southern_poverty_law_center_had_monitored_holocaust_shooting_suspect/|last=Weiss|first=Debra Cassens|date=June 11, 2009|magazine=ABA Journal|access-date=June 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616230922/http://www.abajournal.com/news/southern_poverty_law_center_had_monitored_holocaust_shooting_suspect/|archive-date=June 16, 2009|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}

On June 11, 2009, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington led a prayer vigil that took place in front of the museum to honor Stephen Johns, the slain officer.{{cite news|title=Holocaust Museum Shooting Vigil Planned for 2 p.m.|url=http://dcist.com/2009/06/holocaust_vigil_planned_for_2_pm.php|last=Mathis|first=Sommer|date=June 11, 2009|publisher=DCist|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614092511/http://dcist.com/2009/06/holocaust_vigil_planned_for_2_pm.php|archive-date=June 14, 2009}} Approximately 100 people attended the event, including officials from the Israeli and German embassies.{{cite news|title=Tourists shocked, but carrying on|url=http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/12/tourists-shocked-but-try-to-carry-on/|last=Giaimo|first=Melissa|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615075716/http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/12/tourists-shocked-but-try-to-carry-on/|archive-date=June 15, 2009|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} The Council on American–Islamic Relations condemned the attack as well. When the museum reopened on June 12, 2009, Director Sara Bloomfield said attendance was normal or even higher than usual. Many visitors said their attendance was a statement against hate and intolerance. A 17-year-old girl who was in the museum the day of the shooting said, "It's important to come back, because if you don't, they win. It's a form of terrorism."{{cite news|title=Stepping Up to Defy Intolerance|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/06/11/ST2009061101157.html?sid=ST2009061101157|last=Davenport|first=Christian|date=June 11, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916053129/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/06/11/ST2009061101157.html?sid=ST2009061101157|archive-date=September 16, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}

On the white nationalist Internet forum Stormfront, some users criticized von Brunn's actions, saying they hurt the forum's cause. Others supported him in threads that were later removed, some of which later reappeared.{{cite news|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003982248|title=What the Media Missed in Museum Shooting: Far-Right Reaction|last=Mitchell|first=Greg|date=June 10, 2009|magazine=Editor & Publisher|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617050552/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003982248|archive-date=June 17, 2009}}

{{Wikinews|Gunman kills one at Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.}}

• Antisemitism in the United States
• List of attacks on Jewish institutions

{{clear}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://archive.org/details/killTheBestGentiles_680 "Kill the Best Gentiles!"], James von Brunn's book
• [http://www.ushmm.org United States Holocaust Memorial Museum] official website
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090616124249/http://www.ushmm.org/memoriam/detail.php?content=johns "In Memoriam: Stephen Tyrone Johns"], by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090722113943/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/antisemitism/voices/transcript/?content=20090703 Voices on Antisemitism interview with Scott Simon], by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• {{Cite web |url=http://www.holywesternempire.org/ |title=James von Brunn's personal website |access-date=June 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216091153/http://www.holywesternempire.org/ |archive-date=December 16, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |df=mdy-all }}
• [http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/us-von-brunn61109cmp.html Criminal Complaint] U.S. v. von Brunn (June 11, 2009), by FindLaw
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090616000500/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/von_brunn_background.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_2 "James Von Brunn: An ADL Backgrounder Beliefs and Activities"], by the Anti-Defamation League
• [https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7826614&page=1 Statement by Erik von Brunn], by ABC News

{{Antisemitism topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Neo-Nazism}}

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