Donald Jamesbrown Henry, 38, of Fort Myers, Florida, was convicted of second-degree murder. His sentence now awaits his friend’s death, Shawn Popp. On October 22, 2022, the two men were sharing a blunt while visiting a friend’s home in Arcadia. In a fiery debate over former President Donald Trump, panelists’ disagreement turned dangerous. Three months later, jurors found Henry guilty of first-degree murder. This felony conviction carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 16 years and nine months, and he cannot be released on parole.
Popp’s declaration that Trump “went bankrupt,” was the tipping point that sent the argument past the point of no return. Henry’s response to this comment caused things to escalate further, as Henry felt that Popp was “talking to him like he was dumb.” Witnesses told police that after a verbal argument, the confrontation escalated and led to Henry stabbing Popp in the chest with a kitchen knife.
Throughout the trial, Henry claimed he had only acted in self-defense. He contended that fists can be deemed “deadly weapons” and continued to assert that Popp had punched him first. He argued that his family’s long-standing history of rank in the military colored his response to the fight. Henry said previous training in combat and self-defense “kicked in” during the battle.
Even Henry’s own authorities were forced to concede that her arguments lacked merit. Instead, he had only minor lacerations on his forehead, and no serious injuries to establish need for him to use deadly force.
“You stabbed me, you son of a bitch,” – Shawn Popp
Murder was the least of Henry’s charges. He was additionally convicted of attempting to intimidate a witness who testified against him and cooperated with federal investigators during the ongoing investigation. The state’s case included the fact that Henry tried to intimidate witnesses as additional evidence of his blatant lawlessness.
In Florida, second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison. Henry’s conviction at least guarantees he will face many years behind bars. Prosecutors noted that the two men had smoked dope earlier on the day of the feud. This probably contributed to how emotions boiled over.
“We strongly believed that Donald Trump did not go bankrupt but instead chose the wrong individuals to do business with, which caused it to fail,” – investigators
Henry is continuing to prepare for his sentencing hearing, tentatively scheduled for next month. This case serves to exemplify the very real dangers of inflammatory political rhetoric between friends.