Dalton Eatherly, 28, who is known online by the moniker “Chud the Builder” and has posted racist videos on social media, was given $1.25 million preliminary bond Friday on attempted murder and other charges, after a shooting outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Tennessee.
Prosecutors had asked that he be held without bond until a full hearing next week, according to court proceedings. Judge H. Reid Poland III declined that request and instead set a high bond, saying it reflected the number of people in the courtyard or at the courthouse and the seriousness of the felonies, the AP reported.
Court records tied to the arrest say the incident occurred Wednesday at about 1:19 p.m. outside the courthouse during an “engaged in a verbal altercation,” according to an affidavit filed with the arrest warrant. The affidavit states that during the altercation Eatherly “turned his body in a bladed stance” and reached for his firearm in his right jacket pocket, after which a physical altercation occurred.
The affidavit says Eatherly fired, striking the other man multiple times. It says the victim was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Nashville, where he underwent emergency surgery, and that police said he was in stable condition after surgery. The hospital declined to provide information about the victim’s condition, citing medical privacy laws.
The affidavit also describes “several innocent bystanders” outside the courthouse when Eatherly shot, and it says surveillance video shows a ricocheting projectile hitting nearby walls. The AP reported that audio recording and witness accounts indicate that Eatherly shot himself in the arm.
In addition to attempted murder, Eatherly faces charges of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Eatherly was being held in the Montgomery County jail on Friday, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 26, with a full bond hearing set for May 21.
At Friday’s arraignment, Poland also noted that Eatherly had previously been released on bond in two other cases. The judge’s comments referenced a harassment charge in Montgomery County from November, and charges filed last week in Nashville’s Davidson County that include theft of services, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
An attorney appointed to represent Eatherly on the felony charges, Jacob Fendley, did not address the charges directly in an email response. In that email, Fendley said he has a history of serving people of all skin colors and argued that allegations that he or his staff are racists were “simply ridiculous,” writing that a criminal defense attorney’s role is to represent people regardless of race, religion, ideology, or allegations.
The AP reported that Eatherly is white and posts videos online in which he uses racial slurs and “racist dog whistles” to try to provoke Black passersby. Police have not responded to questions about the race of the person he shot, and a witness described him as Black.