Junction City man charged with hate crime pleads not guilty

An 80-year-old Junction City man accused of firing a gun in the direction of a Hmong neighbor pleaded not guilty.

Henry Kaminski was taken into custody after a standoff with authorities at his Junction City home on March 6. The Portage County District Attorney said during the arrest Kaminski, he told an officer he felt there were too many Hmong people in Junction City.

Kaminski is charged with second degree recklessly endangering safety, intentionally point a fire arm at law enforcement, intentionally pointing a firearm at a person, possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He's free on a $5,000 cash bond.

Kaminski is scheduled to return to court July 3 for a clerical court appearance.