The pistol-packing, 70-year-old sentient packet of Mississippi sour cream known as Ruby Howell was arrested on Tuesday for brandishing a gun at a black couple as they attempted to access a campground, according to the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office.
Is Mississippi getting tough on scary, trigger-happy septuagenarians? Well, probably not. According to CNN, Howell turned herself in Tuesday morning and was released on a $500 bond, meaning she’s still prowling the streets, presumably with her pistol still in tow.
Howell made waves across Al Gore’s internet last month after being filmed at Kampgrounds of America by Franklin and Jessica Richardson, who were trying to picnic by the lake.
According to the Richardsons, who posted a video of part of the encounter on Facebook, Howell pulled up in a truck within minutes of them reaching the campground, pointed a gun at the couple and told them they had to leave because they didn’t have reservations.
“Time stopped. Everything stopped. I was confused as to what was going on. It’s not like we posed a threat to anybody out there walking our dog. There’s nothing harmful about that,” Jessica Richardson told WCBI.
And just in case you thought maybe our thuggish-ruggish grandma was just (capital-B) bout that stand-your-campground life and would have done this to any meandering wanna-be-picnic enthusiast crossing her path, well, just read this next part.
“The fact that she used ‘get, get,’ like we were a dog,” Richardson said. “You say get, get to a stray dog that’s on your porch. That ‘get, get’ got to me more than ‘You don’t belong here.’”
For what it’s worth, Kampgrounds of America touts itself as the world’s largest system of “open-to-the-public campgrounds”—must have been news to Howell!) The company kicked Howell to the, errr, kurb after her racist antics were caught on camera.
That may very well be the extent of Howell’s punishment, though. “Threatening exhibition of a weapon”—which is what police charged Howell with—can warrant up to three months in prison in Mississippi, CNN noted. Howell could also potentially receive a maximum fine of $500.