Latest news with #Nique
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Austin man who talked about blowing up Rochester, St. Paul buildings faces firearm charges
Jun. 10—AUSTIN, Minn. — An Austin man is facing criminal charges after telling two individuals that he would use a pipe bomb to "hypothetically" blow up Rochester and St. Paul buildings. Jonathan Julio Nique, 22, is charged with eight counts of possession of firearms without serial numbers after showing two people an alleged homemade pipe bomb, his 30 firearms and a "stockpile of ammunition" in his garage. The individuals reported what they saw to the Austin Police Department on May 25, claiming that Nique had previously talked about blowing up the Gonda Building and the city-county Government Center, both in Rochester. Nique was placed on $50,000 conditional bail or $250,000 unconditional bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 17. According to the criminal complaint, the Austin Police Department received a report on May 25 that Nique had been "experimenting with explosives, making threatening comments and acting in a concerning extremist-type behavior." The witness told police they were recently inside Nique's garage, at his residence in Austin, when they observed a device that resembled a pipe bomb. Nique also made a comment to the witness about how easily he could "blow up a building" with his pipe bomb, the complaint said. Two witnesses told law enforcement that Nique had approximately 30 firearms in his residence, which included manufactured firearms, homemade firearms and 3D-printed firearms. According to the complaint, he also had a "stockpile of ammunition." Nique told the witnesses that no one is allowed in his garage and that he monitors people if they are in his garage. The witnesses told police Nique is known to use cocaine and sometimes says "unhinged things," the complaint said. One incident they referenced was when they were all talking about an attack at an IVF clinic. In response, Nique said it is easy to build a pipe bomb. According to the complaint, Nique was then asked what building he would blow up, to which he responded with a list of buildings, including the Gonda Building, the city-county Government Center, the Minnesota State Capitol Building and a synagogue. The witnesses said Nique had "white nationalist viewpoints" and had previously made racist comments. Nique told the witnesses he is "anti-law enforcement" and talks about the Ruby Ridge standoff, an 11-day standoff in 1992 between federal agents and a man who failed to appear in court on firearm charges. Two weeks prior, the witnesses said, Nique had gone to the hospital for a hand injury after shaking a medicine bottle with a metal cylinder and match shavings inside. One witness believed Nique was making "Armstrong's Mixture," a type of explosive, according to the complaint. After executing a search warrant on May 28, law enforcement found eight firearms without serial numbers, the complaint said. Several of the guns appeared to have been manufactured using a 3D printer. The guns were all capable of firing, the complaint said. Police found the suspected pipe bomb, but it did not have explosives inside it. The bomb squad, which assisted with the search, located containers with smaller metal objects and suspected matchstick powder inside. Nique was arrested the same day for possession of two .22-caliber rounds inside a courthouse. According to the criminal complaint, he dropped the rounds on his way through Mower County Courthouse security. He agreed to speak with law enforcement and denied making a pipe bomb or practicing with explosives. He said he was "joking" when he made comments about blowing up government and religious buildings.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Charges: Man who allegedly made threats to Capitol, Mayo Clinic had arsenal of guns
Charges: Man who allegedly made threats to Capitol, Mayo Clinic had arsenal of guns originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A 22-year-old man from southern Minnesota is facing numerous weapons charges after witnesses told police that he allegedly threatened to deploy pipe bombs at the Mayo Clinic Gonda building in Rochester and at the Minnesota State Capitol. Jonathan Julio Nique, of Austin, told police that he was joking about blowing up buildings. For that, he wasn't charged. But he is facing eight counts of possessing guns without serial numbers after police searched his home and found around 30 guns and loads of ammunition. According to the criminal complaint filed in Mower County District Court, the person who reported Nique's behavior told authorities that he saw a "device that resembled a pipe bomb" in Nique's garage, while also accusing Nique of making comments about "how easy it is to make pipe bombs and that he could blow up a building if he wanted to." The original reporting party and another witness told investigators that Nique owns about 30 guns, including some that are homemade and others that were made from a 3D printer. They also expressed concern about Nique allegedly saying "unhinged things," including that if he could blow up a building he would blow up the Mayo Clinic's Gonda Building in Rochester, the Olmsted County Government Center, the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, and a synagogue. The charges state that the witnesses described Nique as having white nationalist views and accused him of making racist comments, including going into "detail about what he would do to Jewish people." One of the witnesses said Nique "is anti-law enforcement and has said multiple times that he is not afraid to shoot police if he is pulled over and run." Nique allegedly openly talked about Ruby Ridge — the 1992 standoff in Idaho that left a U.S. Marshal, fugitive Robert Weaver and his wife and son dead — and that "if cops come to his house the whole neighborhood is in danger." Nique is also accused of injuring his hands in May when a medicine bottle with match shavings in it "blew up ... and melted his hands," prompting Nique to seek treatment at a hospital. Nique told police that he burned his hand with matches. When police executed a search warrant at Nique's home, they found around 30 guns, including eight "ghost guns' (no serial numbers) and "several" made from a 3D printer. Three of the ghost guns "appeared to be completely homemade," the complaint says. After the search, Nique was read his rights at the Mower County Courthouse, where he "had just been arrested" for dropping two .22 caliber rounds inside the courthouse before a scheduled hearing. Nique admitted to owning the guns but denied making a pipe bomb and practicing with explosives. He also told police that he was "joking" about blowing up buildings, In total, Nique has been charged with eight counts of possession of a firearm without a serial number, and one count of possession of a dangerous weapon (bullets) in a courthouse. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Death threats, and a cross burnt in my front yard" - Dominique Wilkins recalls living in North Carolina after he chose to go to Georgia
Dominique Wilkins was a high school phenom. A walking headline. A soaring, rim-snapping promise of basketball brilliance out of Washington High School in North Carolina. Nique was supposed to play for North Carolina State. That was the plan. Homegrown hero. The local boy stays home. Red and white banners, ACC glory, and decades of nostalgia in the making. But just as the ink was expected to dry, another school came knocking. The University of Georgia entered the picture late — and Wilkins listened. Then he signed. And then, North Carolina turned. Wilkins' decision He and five other high school All-Americans decided to go there together. The decision to choose Georgia came at a cost. It was a move of autonomy and vision, but for the people in his hometown, it was a betrayal. Advertisement "Once I made that decision, all hell broke loose in the state of North Carolina," he said. "I got F's on my transcript, paint poured on my car, windows burst down, death threats, and a cross burnt in my front yard." This became targeted hate. At 18, Wilkins became the enemy of his own community. The same people who had cheered his state titles and filled gyms just to watch him dunk were now willing to destroy him for leaving the ACC. By the end of the 1970s, he had already carved out legend status in the local hoops scene — back-to-back MVP honors, back-to-back Class 3-A State Championships, and a game that danced somewhere between raw power and divine grace. He was everything the state hoped for. Until he wasn't. Advertisement His cousin, a police officer, got the call when things reached a boiling point. He told Wilkins he'd escort him to the police station to get things sorted. But after seeing the rage boiling in the streets and hearing the whispers of violence, he changed his mind and told Nique to pack. That night, the 6'8" forward and his family left for Atlanta. No fanfare. No goodbye. Just silence and fear folded into cardboard boxes. He never returned to North Carolina — not for 30 years. Related: Isiah Thomas recalls his college recruitment: "My mom closed the briefcase and said, 'My son's not for sale" Facing hate Wilkins didn't have any pleasant memories of North Carolina after making the decision not to go to school there. The most harrowing was the appearance of a burning cross in his front yard Advertisement "I go out the front door, and I get to the front yard; there's a big cross in front of my yard," Wilkins said. "And I remember being very nervous and scared to being very angry." It was the kind of moment that rearranges a young man's understanding of home, safety, and identity. Hate called. It set up camp on his lawn. In the days after, the spiral got worse. Accusations started flying. One claimed he stole a tape from a department store, which was the final straw. That night, Atlanta became a sanctuary. Georgia became salvation. And Wilkins never looked back. In Athens, Georgia, the Atlanta icon went to work. Across three college seasons, he averaged 21.6 points per game, muscling through defenses and dunking with the kind of rage only survivors carry. He was named to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team in 1981 and was widely projected to be a top pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. He left college after his junior year, ready to write the next chapter. Advertisement North Carolina, though, remained a scar. For three decades, he stayed away. No visits. No hometown reconnections. Just distance. Until 2014 — when the state tried to make amends. A statue of Wilkins was unveiled at his high school. That was the first time he came back. Wilkins didn't return as a broken son. He returned as a Hall of Famer, a nine-time NBA All-Star, and one of the greatest to ever do it. His choice to leave didn't derail him; it defined him. Related: "If 'Nique decides to stay, I'm not gonna take 21" - Dominique Wilkins says Tim Duncan would've never worn his jersey number out of respect
