It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen an argument turn physical at a gay bar. But it does happen and thanks to social media and smartphones, we all get to see stupid in action. Alcohol, arguments, and guns do not mix.
Smart phone video taken outside a popular Wilton Manors bar shows two men arguing before one pulls out a gun, threatening the other.
Apparently the argument was that the “Brandon” shirt wearing smoking man was missing his phone. After taking out the weapon, he holds it behind his back while continuing to lob expletives at the other man.
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE: A man has been arrested by @WMPD411 and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol after being recorded pulling a gun on a man outside a Wilton Manors bar Friday@SunSentinel story coming soon pic.twitter.com/AtPndamePt
— Austen Erblat (@AustenErblat) June 26, 2022
First of all, who is carrying a gun when going out to gay bars, especailly tucked in the back of your gym shorts. Of course, trying to postulate why is just as stupid as the act itself.
GYM BAR customers didn’t know what to expect as you see/hear the guy taking this first video back away and stop recording.
A second video shows the gun wielding patron being taken out of the bar in handcuffs by several police officers. “Let’s go, Brandon!” was being yelled in reference to his t-shirt.
The man who recorded the previous video stopped recording when he saw the gun to call 911. He said officers arrived within minutes and arrested the man, identified in court documents as Kenneth Justesen. Video from another witness shows him being hauled out in cuffs by police. pic.twitter.com/PMyNP3ELeC
— Austen Erblat (@AustenErblat) June 26, 2022
So who was this smoking man with a gun? Kenneth Justesen, 45, was arrested Friday night and faces several charges.
The Wilton Manors resident was clearly caught on video by Anthony Robinson, 35
Once Justesen pulled out his gun, Robinson said the first thing that went through his head was “someone getting shot; Whether it be [the man he was arguing with] or an innocent bystander.” – SouthFloridaGayNews
In the video and according to witnesses, Justesen said that he had the right to defend himself. But even before that video started, Justesten was antagonizing and threatening people while digging through the trash to search for his phone, according to Robinson.
“He had lost his phone and was very upset about that, so we went around making comments that whoever had his phone was going to get a bullet in the back of their head, that he would [explicit word] them up, and the other gentleman was saying, ‘don’t say that, it’s just a phone,’” Robinson said.
Andrew said he was trying to calm the guy down, especially after Justesen began antagonizing several women outside the bar. He didn’t see Justesen holding the gun behind his back, and only learned that the man was armed after other people there told him.
He said he wasn’t fazed.
“I’ve seen a lot worse. I’m from Queens, New York,” said Andrew, who works nearby and had gone out with friends. “I just wanted to keep my cool. He was saying all this aggressive stuff. Now that I see the video, I think, ‘Wow, I didn’t notice that.’”
Justesen’s gun was loaded, according to investigators, who went on to say he was intoxicated and “approaching patrons in the bar in a belligerent manner.”
After being taken away, Justesen was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a felony; improper exhibition of a firearm, a misdemeanor; and possession of a firearm while under the influence, a misdemeanor. If convicted of the felony, he would lose his right to lawfully own guns and a concealed weapons permit.
Justesen bonded out of the Broward County Jail on a $7,500 bond Sunday, according to jail records.
It takes a village and sometimes the village has people that make poor decisions. But this does not make the village a bad place to live. Wilton Manors has been a safe place for LGBTQ+ individuals to feel safe, welcome, and enjoy living their true lives. This occurrence does not change that. This just proves it is still part of ‘Merika where people make poor choices.
Thank you again for the quick response of the Wilton Manors Police. A police force we feel proud to have in our Pride Parades as they have come to our protection when there have been true threats made against our safety.
Source: SouthFloridaGayNews