KINGSVILLE, Md. (AP) - A Maryland man who fired a shotgun after an encounter with two men over political signs has been sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Douglas Kuhn, 50, of Kingsville, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to second-degree assault.
Kuhn fired a gun after two men - Neal Houk and Bradley Lang - honked at him as he was putting up a “Black Lives Matter’ sign in his yard in October.
Kuhn faced charges of first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and discharging a weapon within a metropolitan district. Under a plea agreement, all charges were dropped except for the misdemeanor second-degree assault charge.
Houk and Lang, his son, were driving a pickup truck with a large “Trump 2020” sign mounted in the bed while out posting political signs when they drove past Kuhn’s home.
Houk told police that after honking at Kuhn, he saw Kuhn retrieve a shotgun from the ground and aim it at the truck as Houk made a right turn.
Mark Scheuerman, Kuhn’s attorney, said Kuhn did not fire the weapon in the direction of the truck.
Kuhn testified in Baltimore County Circuit Court Wednesday that his reaction was the culmination of several months of being harassed by passersby over his yard signs supporting then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I was emotional,” he said.
“I did not have any intention of shooting or harming anyone,” he said.
Outside the courtroom after sentencing, Houk and Lang said Kuhn got “a slap on the wrist.”
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