Joan Jacobson told investigators she was leaving their home when she was shot , The Detroit News reported. She said she was headed to her car when she saw Richard Harvey.
A leftist man in Michigan who shot a pro-life grandma while she campaigned door to door against abortion has pleaded no contest to multiple charges.
Joan Jacobson, a retired nurse, was visiting homes in Lake Odessa, Michigan to pass out literature opposing Proposal 3, which would legalize abortions up to birth in the state. After radical leftist Sharon Harvey got into an argument with Jacobson, her husband Harvey approached Jacobson with a gun and shot her as she was trying to leave the couple’s property.
Harvey has admitted to firing a warning shot at Jacobson before shooting the elderly woman but claims it was an accident. Jacobson and her attorney say that’s completely false and point out that Richard Harvey had already fired a warning shot and Jacobson had turned away to leave the couple’s property in her vehicle.
Now, Harvey has entered a no contest plea that will lead to his eventual sentencing.
Harvey pleaded no contest Monday to assault, careless discharge of a gun and reckless use of a gun, according to online records. A no-contest plea is treated like a conviction at sentencing.
Messages seeking comment were left for the prosecutor and Harvey’s attorney Tuesday.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
In October, a judge ruled that enough evidence was available to send Harvey to trial. It’s unclear when he will be sentenced, but county clerks say scheduling could take 4-8 weeks.
The 911 call made from Sharon Harvey showed that, not long after shooting pro-life advocate Joan Jacobson, leftist Richard Harvey called her a “right-wing nut” during the conversation with the 911 dispatcher.
Harvey tells the dispatcher that Jacobson :was in some coalition to stop the vote on Proposal 3.”
Richard then adds, “She’s a right wing nut” — making his motive to shoot Jacobson very clear.
Earlier in the call, Sharon Harvey makes the claim that Jacobson wouldn’t leave.
“Some lady over here wouldn’t leave my property and she needs to be arrested,” Harvey told a dispatcher. “She’s trying to have me sign a petition and I won’t do it and I told her to get off my property. And she wouldn’t go.
“My husband nicked her with a gun,” Sharon Harvey said — leaving the 911 dispatcher confused as to what happened and making it appear Richard never shot at Jacobson.
Later in the call, they Harveys finally admit Richard intentionally fired a warning shot and then shot her with the gun as she was leaving.
“Anything else you need to tell me?” the dispatcher asks.
“No, I’m sorry I shot her,” he said.
“And the next thing I knew, I heard a shot and I felt some pain,” Jacobson told the newspaper. “I was just stunned. The pain was in my back, and it was very severe.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her or him,” she said of the Harveys.
Jacobson’s attorney David Kallman says the Right to Life volunteer was intentionally shot during the September 20th incident and that Sharon Harvey was “hostile, belligerent, and antagonistic” when Jacobson came to her door to hand out information.
“She yelled and screamed at Ms. Jacobson and refused to listen to anything she tried to say. Ms. Jacobson, a five-foot tall, 84-year-old, 120 pound, retired nurse, never raised her voice, yelled at Ms. Harvey, or threatened her in any way,” Kallman says.
He said Jacobson began to leave when Mrs. Harvey, who daily posts virulent messages on social media attacking conservatives and promoting abortion, asked her to leave. Kallman said Jacobson never threatened the Harveys, never used her clipboard as a weapon as they contend and was shot “without any provocation.”
“Ms. Jacobson said she was ‘stunned’ upon realizing she had been shot and, fearing for her life, continued to her car and was able to drive to a nearby police station for help,” Kallman added. “She had turned to ask Ms. Harvey to stop yelling at her, and she was shot from the side as the bullet entered the top of her right shoulder and exited out her upper back near her spine.”
“Jacobson believed Richard Harvey intended to shoot her and that he might shoot her again if she did not leave the scene and get help,” he added.
The attorney says the Harveys didn’t even try t help Jacobson once they realized Richard had shot her and he said Sharon Harvey didn’t bother to call 911 for help even though she had a cell phone with her at the time.
“Neither Sharon nor Richard Harvey expressed any concern for Ms. Jacobson, offered her any assistance, or said one word to her after she was shot. Ms. Harvey, who had her cell phone in her hand as she had earlier threatened to call the authorities, made no offer to call 911 after Ms. Jacobson was shot. Ms. Jacobson made it to the police station and was transported to a hospital in Grand Rapids for treatment. She is recovering from her wounds,” he continued.
“There was no justification for shooting Ms. Jacobson,” Kallman said in his statement. “Mr. Harvey admitted firing a warning shot, so he knew the gun was loaded when he pointed it at my client. If it was truly an accident, why did neither of the Harvey’s express any remorse or even offer to assist Ms. Jacobson or call 911 immediately after shooting her? The answer is obvious: it was not an accident and Mr. Harvey should be held accountable.”
Anna Visser, Right to Life of Michigan Communications Director, condemned the shooting.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
“No one should fear violence while peacefully exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech. This 84-year old woman is hardly imposing, standing about 5-feet tall. The idea that shooting this woman is at all excusable is a dangerous claim for Americans across the country who engage in peaceful door-to-door canvassing,” she said.
Visser points out that while Harvey publicly claims the shooting was an “accident,” “Sharon Harvey’s public social media posts raise questions about the motive.”
“Mrs. Harvey’s Facebook page reveals very strong opinions on abortion, the issue the volunteer was canvassing about, and vitriol for prolifers and anyone who disagrees with her. Her extensive history of demonstrated hatred for people who disagree with her draws her account into question,” she said.
