Ex-officer released after grand jury declines to indict on terrorizing charge

A former law enforcement officer accused of traveling to Louisiana with plans to carry out a mass shooting targeting Black people has been released from custody after a grand jury declined to indict him on a state terrorizing charge. Christopher Gillum, 45, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was freed this summer following the decision by an Orleans Parish grand jury in June. He is not currently facing criminal charges in Louisiana or any other jurisdiction, according to his attorney, Dylan Utley.

The case began in April when Gillum was arrested in Florida by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Authorities reported finding a handgun and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition in his hotel room. Investigators alleged that Gillum, who is white, had expressed recent threats to harm Black people and was traveling to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting. His arrest occurred shortly before the start of the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, though authorities never publicly identified the festival as the intended target.

After his arrest, Gillum was extradited to Louisiana and charged under the state's terrorizing statute. The charge, which could have carried up to 15 years in prison,...