White woman found guilty of threatening black couple by pulling gun on them at campground

Published 11:00 am Friday, August 30, 2019

A white Mississippi woman accused of brandishing a handgun at an African American couple while telling them to leave a campground has been convicted of a misdemeanor charge.

Local news outlets report 70-year-old Ruby Nell Howell of Starkville was found guilty Tuesday in Oktibbeha County Justice Court of threatening exhibition of a weapon. She was fined $250 and ordered to pay $182.50 in court fees. Howell will not be jailed.

The charge follows May’s widely shared video of a woman in a Kampgrounds of America shirt holding a revolver as she tells the couple to leave because they had no reservation.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

KOA has said the woman was fired.

Jessica and Franklin Richardson, the couple, said they didn’t realize they needed a reservation and would have left if asked.