A former law enforcement officer accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival was released from custody over the summer after a Louisiana grand jury declined to indict him on a state terrorism charge. The charge could have carried a sentence of up to 15 years.
Christopher Gillum, 45, had been held without bond before the June grand jury decision. His attorney, Dylan Utley, confirmed his release and stated that Gillum is not facing charges in any other jurisdictions. Utley declined further comment.
Gillum, who is white, was arrested in Florida in April by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a handgun. Authorities stated he was en route to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting. The investigation involved the FBI and law enforcement in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Florida. While authorities did not specify the event Gillum allegedly targeted, his arrest occurred shortly before the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, an annual event that draws hundreds of thousands of attendees. According to authorities, Gillum had "expressed recent threats to harm ‘Black people’."
Authorities noted that the threat relayed to a family member occurred in North Carolina. Gillum had not entered Louisiana until after his arrest, presenting jurisdictional complexities. The Louisiana statute for "terrorizing" requires a crime of violence to be imminent or in progress, or a circumstance dangerous to human life to exist or be about to exist.
Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, stated that Gillum's family had taken him to an out-of-state treatment facility and that he faces no additional criminal charges. "The threat relayed to a family member actually occurred in North Carolina. The defendant never entered the State of Louisiana until after his arrest," Duhe said.
According to court records, Gillum resides in Alamance County, North Carolina. Law enforcement officials in that county stated they were unaware of his release from custody and would want to know if he returned to the area. The North Carolina Attorney General's office is not involved, as criminal prosecution authority typically resides with local district attorneys.
Prosecutors often pursue multiple charges when possible in thwarted acts of mass violence. However, Katherine Schweit, a former FBI executive, noted that "It’s very difficult to convince a jury, or to convince a grand jury, that something might have happened."