Grandmaster Jay asks for donations to pay for legal fees

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Surrounded by a group of his supporters, John Fitzgerald Johnson, walked out of a Jefferson County courtroom without much to say Monday.

Johnson is the leader of the self-proclaimed militia, the No F****** Around Coalition, or NFAC, and accused of pointing a semi-automatic rifle at officers and a federal agent on top of a roof during protests in September 2020.He pleaded not guilty on Monday, posted a $5,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in court again in December.

Johnson is also facing federal charges associated with the same incident.

“I thank you all for your support, I will see you all outside,” Johnson said. “I will not be commenting to the media, I have no comment at this time.”

While Johnson didn’t want to speak to the media on camera Monday, he has appeared on camera in several videos posted on social media, WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters have learned. That’s despite a federal judge’s order signed in December telling him not to “access or conduct any activities on social media” as a condition of his bond.

It is unclear who uploaded the videos which appear under different names. Some show Johnson addressing the public directly. Johnson’s bond in the federal case has not been revoked.

“None of this stuff is cheap, and the courts are very expensive,” he explains in one video while asking for donations to pay for the legal fees for both the state and federal charges.

That video was posted under the name “Majoritv Let’s Talk,” and it included a link to a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $173,000 of a $1 million goal.

In September, the United States Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting Johnson with FBI investigators, did not respond to questions about the videos. Monday afternoon, they again declined to comment.