![\"Leshon](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-03-25_17-28-47-440-e1742949013131.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma\u2013\u2013<\/strong>The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma on March 25,\u00a0 2025 unsealed a grand jury indictment charging former National Football League player Leshon Eugene Johnson,\u00a0 58,\u00a0 with \u201cpossessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture, \u00a0and for selling, \u00a0transporting, \u00a0and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture,\u201d\u00a0 according to a U.S. Department of Justice media release.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c<\/strong>Johnson, \u00a0of Broken Arrow, \u00a0Oklahoma, \u00a0made his initial appearance in court last week,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice release said.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFederal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024, \u00a0as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. \u00a0This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice media release continued.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0 \u00a0225 pit bulls were impounded from Leshon Johnson and multiple other defendants in related cases in a series of raids between May 25 and July 9, \u00a02004.<\/p>\n Leshon Johnson pleaded guilty to state animal fighting charges then,\u00a0 but successfully contested additional charges.<\/p>\n Leshon Johnson required purchasers of his pit bulls to sign this declaimer of intent to fight them. (Mal Kant Kennels pdf.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAccording to court documents,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice media release specified, \u00a0\u201cJohnson ran a dog fighting operation known as \u2018Mal Kant Kennels\u2019 in both Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. \u00a0He previously ran \u2018Krazyside Kennels\u2019 also out of Oklahoma, \u00a0which led to his guilty plea on state animal fighting charges in 2004.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnson selectively bred \u2018champion\u2019 and \u2018grand champion\u2019 fighting dogs,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice media release detailed,\u00a0 explaining that in dogfighting terminology,\u00a0 a \u201cchampion\u201d is a dog who has won three fights to the death;\u00a0 a grand champion has won five such fights.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnson marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels \u2018bloodline\u2019 into their own dog fighting operations.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHis trafficking of fighting dogs to other dog fighters across the country contributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry and allowed Johnson to profit financially,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice media release charged.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder federal law,\u201d\u00a0 the Department of Justice media release detailed,\u00a0 \u201cit is illegal to fight dogs in a venture that effects interstate commerce and to possess, \u00a0train, \u00a0transport, \u00a0deliver, \u00a0sell, \u00a0purchase, \u00a0or receive dogs for fighting purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cIf convicted, Johnson faces a maximum penalty on each count of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi,\u00a0 \u00a0agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins,\u00a0 & Donald Trump.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>(Instagram photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Department of Justice media release also supplied manufactured quotes from U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi,\u00a0 FBI director Kash Patel,\u00a0 acting assistant attorney general Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department\u2019s Environment & Natural Resources Division,\u00a0 and Christopher J. Wilson,\u00a0 U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n Pledged Bondi,\u00a0 who has for 20 years cultivated an image as an animal advocate,\u00a0 but whose department has not previously prosecuted a high-profile animal-related case in the two months since her appointment,\u00a0 \u201cThe Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and will remain committed to protecting innocent animals from those who would do them harm.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Seconded Patel,\u00a0 \u201cThe FBI will not tolerate criminals who harm innocent animals for their twisted form of entertainment.\u00a0 The FBI views animal cruelty investigations as a precursor to larger, organized crime efforts, \u00a0similar to trafficking and homicides.\u201d<\/p>\n This might signify intensified federal efforts against cockfighting,\u00a0 increasing often subject to county-and-state-level prosecutions,\u00a0 under sustained investigative pressure from Showing Animals Respect & Kindness and Animal Wellness Action.<\/p>\n Gustafson reminded that, \u201cDog fighting is illegal, and courts have upheld its prosecution time and again.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson applauded \u201cthe investigative work of the FBI and the Justice Department\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division in detecting and dismantling breeding operations\u201d serving the dogfighting industry.<\/p>\n The actual prosecutors of the case against Leshon Johnson will be Justice Department trial lawyers Sarah Brown and Ethan Eddy,\u00a0 with assistant U.S. attorney Jordan Howanitz.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Exploded Animal Wellness Action president Wayne Pacelle,\u00a0 who indirectly tangled with Leshon Johnson 20 years earlier,\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell was ex-NFL player Leshon Johnson thinking about running a massive dogfighting operation outside of Tulsa?<\/p>\n \u201cDogfighting is a social crime; \u00a0others are involved as organizers, referees, and spectators,\u201d\u00a0 Pacelle reminded,\u00a0 citing the case along with recent cockfighting busts in support of his ongoing efforts to pass the federal FIGHT Act,\u00a0 short for the \u201cFighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking Act.\u201d<\/p>\n Introduced in May 2023,\u00a0 the FIGHT Act died with the end of legislative business in the 118th Congress,\u00a0\u00a0ended in January 2025,\u00a0 but is expected to be reintroduced soon into the current 119th Congress.<\/p>\n Leshon Johnson.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Leshon Johnson \u201cwas convicted of this same crime in 2005,\u201d\u00a0 Pacelle recalled, \u00a0\u201cbut is apparently a cruelty-to-animals addict. \u00a0The U.S. should throw the book at him for his sickening crimes,\u201d\u00a0 Pacelle said.<\/p>\n Sixth in the 1993 Heisman Trophy voting after leading the U.S. in rushing at Northern Illinois University, \u00a0Johnson played professionally for the Green Bay Packers, \u00a0Arizona Cardinals, and New York Giants, \u00a0finishing up in the short-lived XFL, \u00a0whose style of play was modeled on TV wrestling.<\/p>\n Leshon Johnson was first arrested for dogfighting in 2000, \u00a0but prosecution that time was deferred on condition that he give up his pit bulls and stay away from dogfights.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Four years later,\u00a0 Leshon Johnson, \u00a0his girlfriend Shevetta Lee, \u00a0his brother Luther Johnson Jr., \u00a0and Luther Johnson Jr.\u2019s girlfriend Camille Gann were allegedly found in possession of 68 of the 225 pit bulls impounded in the raids undertaken between May 25 and July 9, \u00a02004,\u00a0 mostly in Holdenville and Wetumka,\u00a0 Oklahoma.<\/p>\n More than thirty people in all were charged with related offenses, \u00a0reported Anthony Thornton of The Okalahoman<\/em>.<\/p>\n All charges against Shevetta Lee were dropped in December 2004. \u00a0Lee then sought to reclaim 50-odd pit bulls who remained in custody at the Tulsa Animal Shelter,\u00a0 but the pit bulls remained at the shelter as of November 2005,\u00a0 at cost to Tulsa taxpayers of more than $126,000,\u00a0 shelter director Larry Briggs testified.<\/p>\n Camille June Gann, 1952-2017.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Briggs and Humane Society of the U.S. representative Ann Chynoweth further testified that the pit bulls were far too dangerous to rehome,\u00a0 but all eventually were rehomed to the Johnsons and Lee.<\/p>\n Luther Johnson meanwhile twice in four months beat racketeering raps.<\/p>\n Leshon Johnson,\u00a0 despite his previous conviction,\u00a0 again received a deferred sentence.<\/p>\n Camille June Gann, \u00a0convicted of hosting dogfights in her greenhouse, \u00a0to which LeShon Johnson and Luther Johnson Jr. allegedly brought dogs, \u00a0in December 2005 was sentenced to serve seven years in prison plus eight years on probation.<\/p>\nTwo cases 20 years apart involved 418 pit bulls between them<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMost pits impounded from one person in a federal case<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cMal Kant Kennels\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cContributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nManufactured quotes<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nIntensified federal efforts against animal fighting?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cDogfighting is a social crime\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cCruelty-to-animals addict\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThree-time loser<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWoman took stiffest rap<\/h2>\n