{"id":44580,"date":"2026-08-14T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44580"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:14:00","slug":"ex-officer-accused-of-plotting-new-orleans-attack-is-released-after-grand-jury-declines-to-indict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44580","title":{"rendered":"Ex-officer accused of plotting New Orleans attack is released after grand jury declines to indict"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">NEW ORLEANS &#8212; <\/span>A former law enforcement officer <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-orleans-festival-mass-shooting-arrest-f2b60f1e8415c9177c04c230ce930c76\">accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting<\/a> at a New Orleans festival was quietly released from custody over the summer after a grand jury found there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A Louisiana grand jury in June declined to indict Christopher Gillum on a state terrorism charge that could have carried up to a 15-year sentence, court records show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gillum, who had been held without bond, was released shortly after the grand jury\u2019s decision and is not facing charges in any other jurisdictions, according to his attorney, Dylan Utley. He declined to comment further.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gillum&#8217;s release has not previously been reported. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The 45-year-old ex-police officer, who is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, had been arrested in Florida in April with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a handgun while on his way to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff\u2019s Office. The investigation had involved the FBI and authorities across Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Authorities did not name the event Gillum was allegedly targeting, but his arrest came on the eve of the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jazz-fest-new-orleans-louisiana-crawfish-63dead4997d0503d1c57cd05f87d8016\">New Orleans Jazz <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Heritage Festival<\/a>, which attracts hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers annually. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gillum, who is white, had \u201cexpressed recent threats to harm \u2018Black people\u2019 \u201d, according to authorities. His family had reported him missing in North Carolina and said he had a history of self-harm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a statement that Gillum\u2019s family had taken him \u201cto a treatment facility out of the state\u201d and that he is not facing additional criminal charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Duhe said there were \u201cseveral jurisdictional issues\u201d that complicated the case after Gillum was extradited to Louisiana following his arrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThe threat relayed to a family member actually occurred in North Carolina,\u201d Duhe said. \u201cThe defendant never entered the State of Louisiana until after his arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gillum had been planning to travel to the Florida Keys \u201cduring the same period he would have been suspected to travel to Louisiana,\u201d Duhe added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gillum was charged under a Louisiana statute for the crime of \u201cterrorizing,\u201d which requires that \u201ca crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Jonathan Guidry, the foreperson for the grand jury, declined to comment on the decision to not indict Gillum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Katherine Schweit, a former Chicago prosecutor and FBI executive who ran the agency\u2019s active shooter program, said that thwarted acts of mass violence do not always lead to indictments, but prosecutors often seek an array of criminal charges when possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to convince a jury, or to convince a grand jury, that something might have happened,\u201d Schweit told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina, where Louisiana court records list Gillum as residing, told the AP that they were not aware he had been released from custody.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIf we\u2019ve got an individual that was accused of such an action, we would want to know if in fact he did return to Alamance County,\u201d said Byron Tucker, a spokesperson for the Alamance County Sheriff\u2019s Office in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, said their office is not involved and that criminal prosecution authority in the state generally belongs to local district attorneys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The office of the Florida Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment about whether Gillum may face additional criminal charges in its jurisdiction. The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana also did not return messages seeking comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In a statement, the FBI New Orleans office said the decision whether to charge Gillum rested with prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The New Orleans Jazz <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Heritage Festival declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">This story was first published on Aug. 12, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 13, 2026, to correct that Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina\u2019s attorney general, said their office is not involved in legal proceedings surrounding Christopher Gillum and that criminal prosecution authority in the state generally belongs to local district attorneys, not that there are no plans for the state to pursue charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press\/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reportforamerica.org\/\">Report for America<\/a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEW ORLEANS &#8212; A former law enforcement officer accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival was quietly released from custody over the summer after a grand jury found there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime. A Louisiana grand jury in June declined&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/91aa7770-db67-4777-be47-2e0ef30039c6\/wirestory_81afed32b2f9a41f1b7b9f815321ff9d_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}