White supremacist back in Texas jail, this time on gun possession charges
A white supremacist who avoided attempted murder charges in Florida is back in a Texas jail, this time on gun possession charges.
A bond hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning in Houston for William Henry Fears IV of Pasadena, Texas. Fears, 30, is charged with being a felon in聽possession of a firearm, stemming from an incident on August聽26, 2017.聽His felony conviction seven years earlier聽was for aggravated kidnapping.
Fears, his brother Colton,聽and a third person, Tyler Tenbrink, each gained a measure of fame when聽alt-right front man Richard Spencer spoke at the University of Florida in October. Following聽the event, police arrested the trio after shots were fired near the campus, but prosecutors later dropped attempted murder charges against William Fears.
All three trekked from the Houston suburbs to Gainesville, Florida for the Spencer event,聽where they drew immediate media attention.
The Fears brothers and Tenbrink appeared to revel in the attention they received in Gainesville, both from protesters and the media. Tenbrink聽聽to the racist 鈥�14 words鈥� mantra, and William Fears spoke of his desire to be martyred for his beliefs.
Fears was also visible in footage from the disastrous Charlottesville 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� rally on August 12, 2017, shouting 鈥淪hoot! Fire the first shot of the race war!鈥�
Police say the men聽pulled up in a silver Jeep at the corner of 34th Street and Archer Road, just blocks away from the venue Spencer spoke at, and struck up an argument with a group of protesters. Witnesses said the trio became belligerent, throwing out Nazi salutes and praising Adolf Hitler. Then the Fears brothers allegedly urged Tenbrink to shoot the protesters.
, Tenbrink pulled his gun, fired one shot, missed the group and the trio sped off.
Later that night, law enforcement arrested the three for attempted murder, setting a $3 million bond for Tenbrink and a $1 million bond for each of the Fears brothers.
Tenbrink is a felon, so he faces an additional charge for illegally possessing a firearm. William Fears was later released on his own recognizance.
Colton Fears and Tenbrink, both of whom are from the Houston, Texas聽area, are set for trial in September in Gainesville, where they are currently jailed.
At the time of his arrest in Florida, William Fears, a known commodity on the white supremacist circuit, was wanted in Texas on charges that he choked a woman he was dating. He was free on bond before being arrested again on Tuesday.
Those charges are still pending against Fears, who has been convicted of aggravated kidnapping in Smith County, Texas.
