Iowa man charged with allegedly brandishing a gun during road rage incident
Jun. 16—A Forest City, Iowa man is currently in custody in Mower County Jail after being charged with weapons related charges linked to a road rage incident last week.
Sixty-five year old Howard Michael Nielsen has been charged with two felony counts of second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony for illegal possession of a suppressor and gross misdemeanor carrying a pistol without a permit.
Nielsen made his first appearance Monday in Mower County District Court and is currently being held in the Mower County Jail on $100,000 bail/bond with no conditions or $10,000 with conditions.
According to the court complaint, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper was dispatched for a report of a road rage incident at around 10:13 a.m. on June 13 involving the alleged demonstration of a long black gun near the Elkton exit at milepost 189 in Interstate 90.
Just under 10 minutes later, at around 10:25 a.m., the trooper spotted the suspect semi-truck, driven by Nielsen, on I-90 and instigated a traffic stop. During the stop, troopers discovered a .45 pistol with an eight to nine inch black Sig Sauer Mod-X suppressor attached to the barrel.
According to the complaint, Nielsen initially denied having an incident with anybody and when asked said he wouldn't know why somebody would report him for having a gun, but did agree that the only way it could be is if he had showed it.
Nielsen then allegedly demonstrated for a trooper how he had shown the gun — barrel to the driver's side window and pushing it close to the windshield — but also complained that the victim in the case hadn't been driving the speed limit, slowing down to 50 mph and hitting their brakes.
When asked if he showed the gun because the victim was going slow, Nielson allegedly responded by saying, "yeah."
Nielson then produced a conceal and carry permit out of Iowa, but Minnesota doesn't have reciprocity with Iowa for the permits. Nielson also failed to show documentation related to the suppressor.
When questioned, the victim in the case claimed he had been going 65 mph when a truck had come up on his vehicle "very fast and began following him closely, estimating a car and a half distance between them."
The victim then said that he thought a laser pointer was coming from Nielson's truck and the victim slowed at which time Nielson allegedly began honking at him.
He then sped up to 55 to gain some distance between the vehicle when he allegedly saw Nielson's arm come out of the window with the gun pointed up and then leveled it toward the victim's vehicle.
A passenger in the car, who said she hadn't been paying that much attention, told a trooper that the driver told her to get down and that "I think he's got a gun."
Nielsen's next court date is an initial appearance on June 30.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Phil Murphy, Matt Platkin vow increased security for NJ officials after Minnesota shooting
In the wake of the June 14 fatal shootings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, security measures to protect New Jersey public officials have been increased, state officials said. Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed in a June 16 statement that these measures were being taken 'out of an abundance of caution' and that there are no 'known or credible' threats in New Jersey. State Attorney General Matt Platkin echoed that and said 'we will remain vigilant in protecting public safety and our public officials.' Platkin also said he condemns the shootings in the 'strongest terms.' 'Political violence is an attack on our democracy,' he said. 'Impersonating law enforcement to carry it out is sickening." The governor said he was 'horrified by the targeted shooting of Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses,' which 'sent shockwaves throughout our nation.' Earlier: New Jersey increasing patrols to protect officials after 'targeted shootings' in Minnesota Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home in Champlin in the early morning hours of June 14. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot multiple times in a separate incident at their home, also on June 14. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, shared a statement on social media on June 15 from Yvette Hoffman, in which Hoffman said she was shot eight times and her husband suffered nine gunshot wounds. The statement said they were 'both incredibly lucky to be alive" and that her husband was "enduring many surgeries" and is "closer every hour to being out of the woods." 'This terrible act against two dedicated public officials is an attack on our democracy,' Murphy said. 'There is no place for political violence in the United States, and we must all work together to ensure our political differences are settled through debate, not bloodshed.' He compared the incident to the murder of Daniel Salas, son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, at their family home in 2020. That attack inspired Daniel's Law, which prohibited the public disclosure of the home addresses of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers and other public officials. Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on Phil Murphy increased security NJ officials after Minnesota shooting
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Officials Investigate More Threats of Violence Against U.S. Politicians
Officials in at least three states said on Monday that they were investigating or prosecuting people for making threats against politicians, a day after the police in Minnesota arrested and charged a man over the assassination of a state lawmaker. In Texas, the authorities said that an armed man who threatened to harm lawmakers at the State Capitol had been detained. In Georgia, a man was arraigned after prosecutors said he threatened sexual violence against two United States senators. And in Virginia, a former Coast Guard officer was arrested and accused of making threats against President Trump online. Threats and violence against local, state and federal officials in the United States have become part of America's political landscape. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020, and a man bludgeoned the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. President Trump was the target of two assassination attempts during his second presidential campaign. And in April, the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was set on fire as he and his family slept inside. The Department of Homeland Security's annual assessment of threats to the United States said last year that politically motivated violence was among its top concerns for 2025. The number of concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress alone more than doubled from 2017 to 2024, according to an investigation by the United States Capitol Police. The attacks in Minnesota on Saturday killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounded another state lawmaker and his wife. The shootings led to a manhunt for the suspect, who was captured late Sunday and charged with murder. The police said he had a list of other potential targets, including politicians in several states. The two lawmakers were Democrats. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
28 minutes ago
- Fox News
Democratic leaders accuse Trump of legitimizing political violence that led to Minnesota shootings
A chorus of Democratic politicians are blaming President Donald Trump for the violent political atmosphere that they claim led to the murder of one Minnesota lawmaker and her husband over the weekend and the injury of a state senator and his wife in a pair of shootings. Party leaders, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pointed to the president when asked what has led to more violent incidents that seem to be politically motivated. De Blasio blamed Trump for the political violence in the country during an MSNBC segment on Sunday. He told anchor Catherine Rampell that Trump "has, more than anyone, given the permission structure for this reality. And even what we've seen in the last week in Los Angeles, sparked by a kind of state violence, by ICE being extremely aggressive in their approach to immigration enforcement, that created a response from protesters, most of them peaceful. And then, of course, we saw some who were not peaceful — and I want to emphasize that's not acceptable, protesters being violent is not acceptable either." The former New York City mayor added, "But there's a cycle here of the most important leadership in the country, both in the words he uses and the actions he's authorizing, creating an environment that's becoming more violent, more conflictual. I don't expect him to change." The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, was arrested on Sunday following a two-day manhunt in Minnesota after he allegedly posed as a police officer and shot former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, early Saturday morning at their Brooklyn Park home in Minneapolis. Both were killed in the attack. Boelter allegedly committed the murders after shooting State Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their nearby Champlin home in a related attack. When he was arrested, Boelter was found with a cache of weapons, including at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a 9mm handgun, along with a manifesto that listed the names of 70 names and addresses, some of which belonged to other public officials. Anonymous law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that the list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and information about healthcare facilities. "I feel like Trump has really popped the lid off of the rhetoric and the sense of hate and violence and promoted this type of environment," Sen. Merkley said during "CNN News Central" on Monday morning. "It's profoundly disturbing for all of us," he said, after CNN anchor John Berman asked him to describe the "political atmosphere" in the country following the deadly shooting. Sen. Murphy posted a lengthy thread to X on Sunday claiming that the suspected assassin was a "right-winger" influenced by Trump and MAGA to commit violence. "The Minnesota assassin appears to be a hate-filled right winger. So can we stop walking on eggshells about MAGA's legitimization of political violence? Yes, Republicans have also been the target of inexcusable violence, but this isn't a 'both sides' issue." He added, "Trump sends other clear signals supporting political violence. Said he might pardon those that plotted the kidnapping of Gov. Whitmer; threatened peaceful protestors of his military parade with assault. Again, Democrats don't say these things. Not 'both sides.'" Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., also appeared on "CNN News Central" Monday morning to comment on the deadly shooting. During the segment he expressed fear that "we as a society are normalizing political violence," and though he said, "No one side of the political spectrum has a monopoly on it," he argued that Trump has played a big hand in fueling violence. "But President Trump is the biggest problem here. I mean, he has used hateful, degrading rhetoric from the day he decided to run for president. And then pardoning all of the January 6 attackers at the U.S. Capitol, people who thought that violence was a legitimate way to overturn an election, and Donald Trump gave them a big stamp of approval," the congressman said. During a discussion about the shootings and America's political violence on "The View" Monday, co-host Ana Navarro called out President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., by name, claiming their recent feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., over the Los Angeles riots is an example of rhetoric encouraging violence. "But one of the things that I think we must demand is that our elected leaders, who have the biggest bully pulpits… but that also includes Donald Trump, and I'm going to say his name, because what we saw last week was a terrible escalation of political threats," she said, adding, "We saw him talk about putting — detaining and arresting Gavin Newsom for the crime of having been elected. We saw the speaker of the House talk about tar and feathering Gavin Newsom for the crime of being elected." When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, "Democrats are wrong to exploit this tragedy and blame President Trump. If Democrats are truly concerned about lowering tensions they should warn their Democrat colleagues to stop telling supporters they are 'at war' and encouraging them to fight 'in the streets' against President Trump." "ICE agents are facing a 413% increase in assaults because of violent rhetoric and smears from Democrats, including calling them neo-Nazis and Gestapo for simply enforcing immigration law," she continued. "President Trump – the survivor of two assassination attempts – is uniting the country through patriotism, prosperity, and success. Radical Democrats must stop with their divisive, violent rhetoric."
