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Brandt Williams
Minneapolis

Jamar Clark protest shooter takes the stand in his own defense

Allen Scarsella
Allen Scarsella is accused of shooting Black Lives Matter protesters outside the 4th Precinct.
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

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In a surprise twist, Allen Scarsella agreed to testify in his defense on charges he shot five men in November 2015 who were protesting the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark.

Scarsella has pleaded not guilty to the seven felony counts. On Friday, he began by talking mostly about his background but didn't get to the details of the shooting. He is expected to resume testifying on Monday

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, 24-year-old Allen Scarsella spoke calmly to jurors about his life. He said he grew up in Lakeville and attended the University of St. Thomas as well as the West Point military academy. Scarsella said he is a former Boy Scout and Eagle Scout.

He also described his passion for antique guns and told the jury he has a permit to carry a firearm.

He described his fascination with black powder guns. He said his handle on the website 4Chan was "Black Powder Ranger," a combination of his interest in black powder guns and the children's TV show "Power Rangers."

Prosecutors say Scarsella took a .45-caliber handgun with him on the night of Nov. 23, 2015 and used it to shoot and wound five men. They say he was motivated by bias against African-Americans when he showed up at the Black Lives Matter protest over the fatal police shooting Clark.

One of Scarsella's companions from that night, Nathan Gustavsson, testified he saw a man lunge at Scarsella with a knife. Gustavsson said Scarsella quickly drew his gun from a shoulder holster and fired all the bullets in the gun's magazine.