In the capital city of Minnesota, a middle-aged white man was given no prison time after being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing an unarmed Black man. The 2021 murder of Arnell ‘AJ’ Stewart and the following conviction and sentencing of Brian Kjellberg provides a look at how racial dynamics play a favorable role for certain killers within the criminal justice system.

You may have never heard their names before but the story is a familiar one — the racially charged killing of AJ Stewart, 27, was quickly compared to Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery. Kjellberg, who was 50 years old at the time, was dubbed “Saint Paul’s version of George Zimmerman, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan.” (Zimmerman killed Martin and the McMichaels and Bryan killed Arbery.)

Kjellberg was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder by a jury in March 2023. The guilty verdict was rendered in just 90 minutes following a four-day trial after Ramsey County prosecutors ignored pleas from Stewart’s family and advocates for first-degree murder and hate crimes charges.

Despite the state asking for 12.5 years in prison, Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro gave Kjellberg a dispositional departure and sentenced him to 365 days in jail.

Tabatha Lewis, Stewart’s mother, and the family attorney Jeff Storms sat down with Unicorn Riot and shared their reactions and thoughts on the killing, the charges, the trial and the sentencing. Our report linked at the bottom of the page also features each of the trial exhibits, including Kjellberg’s interrogation video and video from an alley camera that shows the deadly attack.