Leonard faces the possibility of life in prison under Mississippi Code 97-37-25, according to the Tupelo Daily Journal.
In the incident, a vehicle pulled up to an entrance at the Walmart on North Gloster St. around 1:30 a.m., said Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre. A white male got out of the car, lit a package and tossed it in the vestibule. An employee was on break and the suspect told him “you better run,” Aguirre added.
The employee ran from the small blast and wasn’t injured. Only minor damages to the Walmart Supercenter were reported, The New York Daily News reports.
With a huge Mississippi flag springing up through the sun roof of his small silver car, Leonard ran a red light in front of Walmart, attracting the attention of an officer who pulled him over for the traffic violation, Aguirre said, per this article in the Tupelo Daily Journal, “but when the calls started coming in, we quickly figured out we needed to hang on to this suspect.”
Officials are awaiting word on Leonard’s prior criminal history in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Leonard vented his anger at Walmart, ranting on the Daily Journal’s Facebook page last week, threatening the newspaper, a local television station and a department store, Gawker notes:
“Journal Corporate … You are on final warning … You are part if [sic] the problem. As a result of this, yall are going down, along with Walmart, WTVA, Reeds department store, and all the rest of the anti-American crooks,” he wrote on Oct. 28. “Get yourself ready … the Lord is comming [sic] after yall….Im not kidding no messing around anymore! Your days are numbered all of ya!”
As a supporter of the Mississippi flag, Leonard protested whenever anyone wanted it removed because it contained the Confederate battle flag. When Walmart quit selling items with the Confederate battle flag, he protested, the Clarion-Ledger reported.
