BY AMY RENEE LEIKER
(KANSAS) A local man who took a gun to a Wichita mosque and yelled Islamophobic comments at a Muslim man pleaded guilty late last month to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct over the incident where he also rubbed ham on cartoonish posters of the Prophet Muhammad and a copy of the Quran.
Dustin Arterburn was immediately sentenced to probation with an underlying jail term of 90 days after he entered the plea on May 25, Sedgwick County District Court records show. The plea came ahead of a bench trial scheduled for June 9. In addition to following certain rules while he’s on probation — such as staying out of legal trouble and holding a full-time job —
Arterburn has to write letters to the Islamic Society of Wichita and a Muslim man, apologizing for his actions and “any fear he caused or disrespect shown” when he went to the Masjid An Noor Mosque and the Islamic Society of Wichita on Oct. 30, 2020, court documents show.
Wichita police last year announced that Arterburn had been arrested after shouting at a 53-year-old Muslim man who was at the mosque, near 17th and Hillside, and hanging “concerning posters” depicting a cartoonish drawing of the Prophet Muhammad at the Islamic Society of Wichita property near Woodlawn and K-96. Arterburn’s actions caused a local Islamic leader to call for peace during and after the 2020 election, a time when racial and religious tensions were especially high, The Eagle previously reported.