Oklahoma bounty hunters brandished replica guns in "scary and terrifying" threats in Minneapolis, charges say

Arrest warrants are out for two Oklahoma-based bounty hunters in connection to separate incidents involving the use of replica firearms to threaten people in Minneapolis last month.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged 54-year-old James Reginal Willis and 28-year-old Garrett Christopher Willis Tuesday with two felony counts each of threats of violence and displaying replica firearms in connection to the confrontations on March 3.

"So scary and terrifying"  

Court documents say police officers were called to City Hall in downtown Minneapolis after the bounty hunters dropped off someone with an arrest warrant. Surveillance footage shows the bounty hunters returning to their vehicle to find demonstrators had "positioned themselves on the side and in front of the van and were chanting at them," the complaint states.

Garrett Willis allegedly pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the demonstrators before getting behind the wheel, while James Willis — wearing what appeared to be a ballistics vest and a holstered handgun — walked in front of the van, holding what looked like a rifle, which he allegedly "pointed at the feet of the civilians," the complaint states. Smoke then appeared, which law enforcement said was "consistent" with the discharge of pepper balls.

Garrett Willis then exited the van, pointed the apparent handgun toward the crowd again and appeared to "pull the trigger twice" before both men got back into the vehicle, according to the court documents. While Minneapolis uses a gunshot detection system throughout the city, authorities say it isn't active in that part of downtown.

Footage then shows the van drive off, nearly striking two demonstrators. Police say additional charges may be filed if those two demonstrators come forward with their accounts of the incident.

Police later interviewed two witnesses, one of whom described the encounter as "so scary and terrifying" due to the weapons involved. The complaint states that both witnesses also said they smelled smoke from the pepper balls and claimed their fellow demonstrators "were chanting but were not violent."

"Chill! Chill!"

Later that day, police learned of another armed encounter involving the bounty hunters in the area of East 28th Street and Oakland Avenue, just a few blocks west of Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

A motorist filmed the bounty hunters "taking a male into custody," according to court records, and saw one of the men holding what looked like a rifle.

Police say at one point, the cellphone footage showed James Willis telling the motorist to "back up" while standing in front of the vehicle with his rifle "at ready" position.

The motorist is heard in the video saying, "I'm trying to go," and, "Chill! Chill!" multiple times before eventually driving away from the scene unharmed.

"He had been dreading this call"

Police say they eventually spoke with James Willis on the phone 10 days later, where he told investigators "he had been dreading this call," court records state.

James Willis said the confrontation with demonstrators looked "'way worse' than it really was," and "'this type of thing' was happening a lot" in his line of work.

In the Oakland Avenue incident, James Willis claimed "multiple people" were following his van, the complaint states, and were "starting to get aggressive."

He also admitted to pointing his rifle at the motorist who filmed him, and said his team uses less-lethal weapons "modeled after a Glock 17," in addition to two pepper ball guns modeled after assault rifles.

He also claimed demonstrators threatened to scalp them "with knives" and shoot them in the head, verbal threats which investigators say weren't heard in audio from the surveillance footage. Court documents also state police didn't see any armed demonstrators in the video.

"Disturbing, unlawful behavior"

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty posted a video statement about the case on social media Tuesday.

"The fact that the weapons were not recovered does not impact our charges," Moriarty said.

She described the bounty hunters' actions as "disturbing, unlawful behavior that terrified the civilians involved and shocked a community that was still reeling from the federal government's occupation," referring to Operation Metro Surge, the immigration enforcement campaign that lasted for nearly three months and led to the killings of civilians Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers.

Moriarty called on the Minnesota Legislature to bolster bounty hunter regulations in the state, including:

• Requiring "bounty hunters to be licensed by the state, bonded, and carry liability insurance of at least $1 million."
• Requiring the completion of "at least 20 hours of relevant classroom education and a 40-hour power of arrest course."
• Carrying "documentation of their authority to apprehend someone."
• Prohibiting bounty hunters from "misrepresenting themselves as law enforcement through dress and use of badges."

The latter recommendation also conjures up claims made by several Minnesotans during the ICE surge that federal agents had been disguising themselves, and in last year's politically motivated killings of former Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, where Vance Boelter — the man facing state and federal murder charges in their deaths — is also accused of disguising himself and his vehicle to appear like a police officer in the early morning attacks on Democratic lawmakers.

"Passage of this legislation would make our communities safer," Moriarty said.