On Monday, police say, Quintez Brown, 21, took out a gun and opened fire inside the office of Craig Greenberg, a Democrat running for Loui...
On Monday, police say, Quintez Brown, 21, took out a gun and opened fire inside the office of Craig Greenberg, a Democrat running for Louisville, Kentucky’s mayoral office. No one was injured, but a bullet grazed Greenberg’s sweater and shirt.
Later that day, Brown was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Greenberg and four counts of wanton endangerment. He was remanded to Louisville Metro Corrections with a $100,000 bond, WDRB-TV reported.
On Wednesday, the bond was posted, leading to Brown’s release a mere two days following his arrest.
According to WLKY-TV, an organizer with the Louisville Community Bail Fund — a project run by Black Lives Matter Louisville — posted the full $100,000 bond.
During his arraignment on Monday, Judge Annette Karem had raised Brown’s bond from $75,000 to $100,000, according to WDRB. If the bond was to be posted, Karem said, Brown would be released to home incarceration.
“Mr. Brown will be monitored by the Department of Corrections, consistent with Home Incarceration Program rules and regulations and any conditions set forth in the court order, including use of a GPS monitoring device and home checks,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement following Brown’s release, according to the outlet.
“Alerts will notify HIP personnel if the device is tampered with or goes outside the geofence,” the Democrat said.
Upon his release, Brown was met by a crowd of family and supporters.
The 21-year-old is a well-known racial justice activist who has worked closely with the Black Lives Matter Louisville organization. He is currently running as an independent candidate for Louisville Metro Council District 5.
Brown also was a columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal, writing about “race, youth opinion and social justice.”
The radical perspective of his columns can be seen in these headlines:
• “Happy Juneteenth: Black people still are not free.”
• “Opinion: Black people can’t swim in Louisville, and it’s putting them in danger.”
• “Opinion: JCPS is right to remove police officers from schools.”
• “Dear God, do I deserve to die for being born black?”
• “How political apathy, voter suppression is impacting turnout in West Louisville.”
• “Opinion: Concealed carry law shows life doesn’t matter to GOP Louisville.”
Brown participated in the unrest that took place after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis 2020, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, and he recently called for his followers on social media to join a black supremacist group.
In January, he also wrote a story calling for revolution against “genocide and fascism.”
“The revolutionary consciousness of the masses must understand that the struggle against the negative forces of genocide and fascism will not end at the ballot box of the ruling class,” Brown wrote on Medium.
“Attempting to get within one of the two major parties has caused our leaders to become co-opted with their interests shunted to the background,” he said. “They have become expendable.”
Republicans and conservatives were far from the only focus of Brown’s ire. During a March 2020 interview with Louisville Magazine, Brown claimed that Democrats — the political party of Greenberg — are also complicit in racism.
“Even the most progressive Democratic leaders … will really kill us and tear gas us and then blame us for it,” he said.
“We’re really at war.”
Supporters of Brown have claimed the incident had no political motivations and was merely a consequence of his poor mental health. In court, his attorney, Rob Eggert, said he plans to have Brown undergo a psychiatric evaluation due to his “serious mental health issues.”
Louisville Metro Council President David James seemed much less convinced.
“It’s unfortunate Mr. Brown has been bailed out of jail, due to his propensity to violence,” James told WLKY on Wednesday. “I think it’s irresponsible and I hope those who contributed to posting this bond are prepared to be held accountable if Mr. Brown injures someone while out.”
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