澳彩开奖

Outside the hall where Spencer was scheduled to speak, King got into a dispute with a protester 鈥� an argument that escalated to violence.

Both King and the protester 鈥� 28-year-old Seth Myles Waldon 鈥� were arrested at the scene. Michael Hill, leader of the neo-Confederate hate group League of the South, claimed King was 鈥渙ne of our compatriots鈥� in a post the following day soliciting donations to help King pay his fine.

At Thursday鈥檚 trial, Waldon was called as a witness for the defense. During his testimony, he said, 鈥淢r. King approached a woman and made a threatening gesture 鈥� I stepped between him and her.鈥�

In King鈥檚 testimony, he told the judge that before Waldon engaged him, 鈥淚 was what they call 鈥榯rolling鈥� the other people,鈥� with a can of Coke in one hand and a phone streaming live on Facebook in the other. 鈥淚 thought I had the right to speak my mind,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen I come face to face with this huge bully.鈥�

King鈥檚 attorney argued his actions constituted self-defense based on Alabama鈥檚 鈥淪tand Your Ground鈥� statutes. But the arresting officer disagreed. He testified for the City of Auburn that King engaged in threatening behavior and disrupted peaceful protests.

Based primarily on evidence, the judge sided with the City, ruling that King was guilty of disorderly conduct for instigating and escalating the altercation.

聽鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 just like another bar fight,鈥� he said in his decision. King clearly took exception to the outcome: He interrupted the judge twice to argue, prompting his lawyer to intervene and apologize.

King received a suspended 30-day jail sentence, provided he pays fines and court fees totaling $451 and avoids fights in the future.聽

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