New Details Emerge In Shooting Of 84-Year-Old Pro-Life Volunteer, Michigan Man Charged

Conservative News DailyOctober 1, 2022

New details continue to emerge in the shooting of an 84-year-old pro-life Michigan canvasser, now identified as retired nurse Joan Jacobson.

Richard Harvey, 74, admitted during a news interview last week that he fired off a “warning shot” from his .22 caliber rifle when he heard his wife allegedly arguing with the elderly pro-life activist on September 20. He also claimed he tried to push away Jacobson’s clipboard and said he accidentally shot her in the front of her shoulder.

Jacobson, though, says the shooting was intentional. “I do think that he knew what he was doing,” she told The Daily Signal. “I think it was intentional.”

The elderly woman, described as 120 pounds and five feet tall, says she did not refuse to leave the property like the Harveys have claimed nor did she threaten the couple.

Harvey was charged Friday with felonious assault, careless discharge of a weapon causing injury, and reckless use of a firearm, according to WoodTV.

Felonious assault in Michigan carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, the report noted.

A press release from Great Lakes Justice Center sent to The Daily Wire said Jacobson was visiting homes on September 20 to express her concerns over Ballot Proposal 3, which is a pro-abortion measure. “She had been to approximately a dozen homes, handed out literature, had friendly conversations with folks, and then came to the door of Sharon and Richard Harvey,” the press release said. “That is when her day suddenly turned dangerous.”

Sharon Harvey was “immediately” “hostile, belligerent, and antagonistic” when she found out Jacobson’s views, the legal team claimed. When the pro-life activist was ordered off the property, Jacobson left while Sharon allegedly continued to follow her and verbally harass her, the legal team said. And things only escalated from there when Mr. Harvey showed up with a gun.

“Ms. Harvey followed her down the porch onto the sidewalk and continued her verbal assault of Ms. Jacobson,” the press release said. “Her husband, Richard Harvey, joined her in the yard and was carrying a loaded .22-caliber rifle. He never said a word to Ms. Jacobson, and she said nothing to him. He admitted that he fired a ‘warning shot’ and then claimed he ‘accidently’ shot Ms. Jacobson with a second shot.”

“She was not threatening either Mr. Harvey or his wife, did not use her clipboard as a weapon, and was shot without any provocation,” the legal team continued. “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 was “stunned” by the shooting and feared for her life. She drove to a nearby police station, where she was then transferred to a hospital for treatment.

“She believed Mr. Harvey intended to shoot her and that he might shoot her again if she did not leave the scene and get help,” the press release said, adding that “[n]either Sharon nor Richard Harvey expressed any concern for Ms. Jacobson, offered her any assistance, or said one word to her after she was shot.”

“There was no justification for shooting Ms. Jacobson,” said David Kallman, senior legal counsel for Great Lakes Justice Center. “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.”

“I was just in shock,” Jacobson recounted to The Daily Signal. “I said to myself, ‘Did I just get shot? Did he just shoot me?’”

“They didn’t say anything,” the 84-year-old told the outlet. “I didn’t say anything. I just headed back to my car and tried to ascertain if I could drive … I didn’t feel lightheaded or like I was going to pass out or anything. I thought, ‘I gotta get out of here.’ I got into the car and they were standing by the sidewalk, I looked through the car window, and I had a thought that went through my mind, I thought, ‘This guy is going to shoot me again through the window of the car!’ He didn’t, and I was able to get the car started, get into gear, get on the road.”