The murder of Jovanni Sierra Brand should have been the occasion for a national discussion about the phenomenon of converts to Islam becoming violent, which keeps happening, and what should be done about it. Instead, the whole thing was swept under the rug, as always.
Note the ever-witless Daily Mail’s headline: “White ISIS enthusiast…” The Mail always tries to make jihad a racial issue. It is not in this case, nor in many others where the media coverage plays up a race angle.
“White ISIS enthusiast and Muslim convert, 21, is sentenced to life in prison for murdering boy, 13, and knifing two others at a birthday sleepover in 2018 after the victims ‘disrespected his faith,'” by Andrea Blanko, DailyMail.com, January 13, 2022 (thanks to Henry):
A white ISIS enthusiast and Muslim convert who killed a 13-year-old boy during his birthday sleepover party and injured two other people in Florida in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.
Corey Johnson, 21, was found guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in November 2020.
Johnson was 17 years old when he killed Jovanni Sierra Brand and knifed Elaine Simon, 43, and her 13-year-old son, Dane Bancroft, at Jovanni’s birthday sleepover, claiming that the victims had ‘idolized celebrities and disrespected his Muslim faith.’
Johnson, who considered Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Kim Jong Un as his role models, was known for making disparaging remarks about Jews and homosexuals, expressing support for the KKK and was described by others as a white supremacist.
His defense tried to argue the violent attack had been sparked by Johnson’s traumatic childhood and mental health issues, local news station WPBF reported.
Palm Beach County Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo sentenced Johnson to life in prison and said on Thursday she did not believe rehabilitation was likely for Johnson after he remained emotionless during the heartfelt testimony of Jovanni’s mother.
The gruesome attack happened in March 2018, at the BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, where Simon and Dane, one of Jovanni’s friends, lived.
Johnson was at the sleepover because he was a friend of Dane’s older brother, Kyle Bancroft. Before the tragedy, the boys had been to dinner to celebrate Jovanni’s thirteenth birthday and had decided to spend the night at Simon’s.
Johnson told police he read the Quran on his phone to give him ‘courage’ to carry out the bloody stabbing spree during the sleepover.
During his statement in court Thursday, Johnson said he wanted to apologize to the victims for his radical and violent attack, adding that he couldn’t begin to imagine the pain he had caused.
‘I wish I could take it back, I wish I could do something to make this right,’ Johnson said. ‘I’d like to apologize not because it will change anything, but because I’m really truly sorry.’
His defense had attempted to argue insanity, citing that both his parents had also dealt with depression and that, as a child, he had witnessed the verbal and physical abuse his father perpetrated on his mother….
Johnson also said he regretted following the Islamic extremist group ISIS, and that he hoped to help people to compensate for the crimes he had committed.
At the time of his arrest for the killing of Jovanni in 2018, Johnson already had federal charges pending against him for threatening a Catholic school in England.
In January 2017, local law enforcement agencies and FBI agents met with staff at William T Dwyer High School, where Johnson was a student at the time to discuss information suggesting that the teen had reached out to ISIS online saying that he wished to join the murderous terrorist group.
A sheriff’s detective interviewed the 17-year-old to assess his mental state and concluded that Johnson was a terrorist sympathizer, according to the report.
The FBI later informed the Jupiter Police Department that an unspecified European counter-intelligence agency was investigating Johnson in connection to threats that were made in Instagram threats that were made in October 2016 against McAuley Catholic High School in Doncaster, England.
Authorities said the threats were so serious that up to 100 students withdrew from the school for fear of an attack.
One of the threatening posts read: ‘We have our sights set on you, and by Allah we will kill every infidel student at this school inshallah) #McAuleySchoolMassacre.’ The threatening message came from an account named 81daesh48. Daesh is an alternative name for ISIS….
Ewanda says
This is what a true “Domestic Terrorist” is – NOT being a Republican.nor believing in conservative values. The magnifying glass is turned the wrong way and because of political correctness and the open border there will be many more of these crimes. Without addressing them with realization and education of the true facts of that cult, sadly, there will be many more innocent victims.
mortimer says
Agree. All Mohammedans have the real potential to become terrorists if they choose to imitate Mohammed’s terrorism and act as viciously as he did. Muslims who learn their RELIGIOUS DUTY to conduct jihad often turn to jihad and when they do, they often turn away from it and become quiet apostates.
However, MOST Mohammedans disrespect the real Mohammed they read about in the hadiths and Sira or they have simply not read about him. Many Muslims have actually left Islam upon reading about the savage, immoral and barbaric behaviors of Mohammed.
Most Mohammedans today DO NOT PRACTICE REAL ISLAM, but a pared-down, reduced and shrunken version of Islam to suit their own modern presuppositions of what a religion should be. Thus, but their deeds, today’s Mohammedans barely imitate Mohammed at all, so little do they respect this self-styled prophet.
Most of them are Muslims for the rituals, but not in their essential conduct outside the mosque.
PMK says
Court records say he murdered Jovanni after everyone else had gone to sleep. Premeditated!
Then he knifed the other two victims after the woman had gone to investigate the noises in the house.
Life sentence in Florida (if it includes the possibility of parole) means he’ll probably be out well before his 50th birthday, assuming the verdict and/or sentence is not overturned somehow.
revereridesagain says
I had a sudden flashback to the 80s and 90s, when incidents of satanism-addled-“heavy metal music” fan kids getting delusions of demonic power and pushing their school chums down wells, beheading the neighbors, sacrificing pets, shooting family members, committing rapes, and robbing graves, the motives for which were dismissed as “satanic panic” and downgraded to “mental health issues”.
Now when similar crimes are committed by converts to Islam whose heroes include Hitler and Stalin, the motives — so similar in their wish to please malign supernatural forces by obeying their alleged commands — are swept under the rug lest they give rise to “Islamophobia”.
Some of the culties also came to their senses and regretted their actions. But of course by then, it was too late for the victims. Seems far too many people never learn.
Wellington says
Pretty damn sure we’ll never read about “a black ISIS enthusiast.”
What a phony time we live in. No doubt.
mortimer says
The Leftists protect and shield Muslim terrorists like convert Corey Johnson from criticism, even when they so deserve to be criticized. Johnson’s actions are his interpretation of jihad and if he had the backing of ISIS or Al Qaeda, Muslims would consider him a hero. His problems was acting as a lone wolf. But perhaps he did have backing from some mentor.
mortimer says
Concur with wellington. It only becomes ‘racist’ when non-white jihadists are criticized.
To criticize them becomes worse than their vicious, callous deeds.
mortimer says
Convert to Islam Corey Johnson wrote: ” by Allah we will kill every infidel student at this school inshallah”.
That says it all. Mohammedans wish harm to kafirs because Allah wants Muslims to harm them.
Koran 48:29 is a verse that clearly and unmistakably, perhaps deliberately, contradicts the Golden Rule:
Koran 48.29 – “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; Those with him are VIOLENT (ashiddaa’) against the unbelievers (kufaar), Compassionate amongst themselves.” – (Richard Bell’s translation)
So … Islam truly is not ‘benign’ … not at all.
Carl Snit says
The only difference between radical and moderate muslims is that the radicals want to kill you and the moderates want the radicals to kill you–their so-called “faith” is all about hating those who do subscribe to the same fairy tale..
Benjamin says
Exactly!!
Hoi Polloi says
Well said. That’s exactly what we aren’t supposed to know.
mortimer says
Corey Johnson said to the court: “‘I wish I could take it back, I wish I could do something to make this right,’ Johnson said. ‘I’d like to apologize not because it will change anything, but because I’m really truly sorry.’
The only way to prove his words if he leaves Islam, because Islam is a warrior cult and a death cult which is undeniably violence-prone.
Eva says
I have to disagree with you about the ‘warrior cult’ bit.
Moslems aren’t warriors. They’re cowardly sneak attackers, like this one, or ganging up on one small family group when there are about 50 or more in their mob, or suicide bombings and car-rammings like we see in Israel.
Cowards, liars and bullies is all they are.
Never warriors.
somehistory says
We can all hope that he was speaking the Truth when he said he is sorry. It can happen…maybe this time, it actually has. But, he did murder the boy, so he must face the consequences.
OT: but more mozlum violence.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/an-indonesian-woman-was-flogged-100-times-for-adultery-while-the-man-she-had-the-affair-with-received-15-lashes-after-denying-the-accusations/ar
mozlums punish with cruelty what they see as *morality crimes*, while they commit horrendous crimes of rape and murder. against the innocent, in order to satisfy the evil lusts of their demon snake “father, satan the devil.”
James Lincoln says
somehistory says,
“We can all hope that he was speaking the Truth when he said he is sorry.”
Fair enough, but it really means nothing unless he VERY publicly becomes an ex-muslim apostate.
somehistory says
It means *something* between him and God. If he is truly sorry and God forgives him, then that is *something* for him.
And, since his remarks about being sorry have been “made public”…otherwise, how would we know that he said it?…wouldn’t the mozlums who heard about this consider that he has gone *apostate*?
I just hope he meant it and is really repentant. The family of the dead child might choose to forgive him or not. They certainly don’t have to, as mozlums are taught to lie.
James Lincoln says
somehistory,
My post was probably not very well-thought-out. Let me try again.
In my opinion:
When someone commits a horrific crime, yes, they may actually be telling the truth when they are saying that they are sorry. And that does, indeed, mean something. (A sociopath versus a psychopath.)
The problem is, unless he totally abandons islam, this particular muslim convert may be simply practicing “Taqiyya” when he says that he is “sorry”. (But you knew that already.) And I saw nothing in the feature article that stated that he had totally abandoned islam and had become an apostate. Perhaps he is using the “I’m sorry” tactic for leniency with future parole boards, etc.
I was trying to get across that this particular individual would have a lot more credibility if he also very publicly abandoned islam – which would also help the anti-jihad cause in general.
Walter Sieruk says
This is another example of the difference in belief and therefore action of a devout Muslim and Christian who is completely committed to following Jesus and His teaching reacts
.
Such a Muslim who had someone “disrespect ” the religion of Islam , then murders that person.
In great contrast ,such a Christian had someone disrespect Jesus does or should pray for that person,
So the fruits of the behavior of a Muslim in that certain situation and the contrasting fruits of a Christian of the in a similar type of situation is outstanding.
Jesus taught “By their fruits you will recognize them” Matthew 7:20. [N.I.V.]
Eleanor says
The Daily Mail will only mention the colour of the perpetrator of a crime if they are white. If the perpetrator/s are non-white, then their colour or race is almost never mentioned in the description. Also photos of white perpetrators are clear, whereas any photos of non-white perpetrators are blurry, and usually the faces are pixelled. The DM think they are being so very clever, but it’s obvious to most readers.
Pray Hard says
Ain’t islam just the greatest?
VickyK says
We’ve foolishly allowed Islam to poison our communities. Muslims train inside growing numbers of mosques, Islamic centers, compounds and congressional seats. Jihadis conspiring with homegrown domestic enemies to turn our entire nation into the savage culture they’re forced on many other nations. We, like sheep, are led to the slaughter. Multitudes of our children, having been sacrificed on the alter of diversity and tolerance, are suffering lives of subjugation and fear.
We must ban Islam, before it bans us.
Benjamin says
Islam is a very dangerous doctrine. It will not fit into the current modern world. definitely not into secular countries like USA and England. Beware America!!! more Muslims = more violence
OLD GUY says
Here we go, this is just the beginning of jihadist attacks against non-muslin/islamic followers in America. With a little time this will become a daily event in our country thanks to the liberal left democrats and the Biden open borders and pay millions of our tax dollars for these migrants to come to America. Just what as citizens and tax payers are we the people gaining from this muslim migration? Diversity, I don’t think so, there is no diversity under islam.
CliffyK says
Under islam “diversity” is openly and forcefully discouraged via stoning and beheading…