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It was a short goodbye for what will be a relatively long absence.

A judge in Charlottesville, Virginia, sentenced the 53-year-old Preston on Tuesday to four years in prison with another four years suspended for firing a gun into a crowd during the 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� rally of Aug. 12, 2017. The prison sentence handed down by Charlottesville Circuit Judge Richard Moore marked the first felony sentence stemming from the deadly rally, which saw the downtown area of the city of 48,000 overrun by neo-Nazis, racists, white supremacists and others on that deadly weekend.

Preston pleaded no contest to firing a shot during the rally that did not hit anyone.

鈥淚t was just pure belligerence,鈥� Moore said.

Initial claim of self-defense

Preston, a Baltimore, Maryland, resident, is the聽Imperial Wizard of the Confederate White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, although that affiliation went unmentioned during the nearly 40-minute hearing. In a video filmed by the ACLU of Virginia, Preston is seen firing a pistol at聽counter-protesters.

In the video, Preston is seen drawing his pistol and聽shouting, 鈥淗ey, n-----,鈥� then walking toward the crowd, lowering his gun toward the ground and firing before walking away. There were聽no reports of injuries聽from the gunshot.

At the time, Preston claimed he was trying to shield others from a homemade flamethrower 鈥� an aerosol can sprayed onto a lighter 鈥� wielded by 24-year-old Corey Long, who will stand trial in January. Preston鈥檚 attorney, Elmer Woodard, made the same claim during the sentencing hearing Tuesday. Woodard also noted that Preston鈥檚 bullet didn鈥檛 strike anyone.

鈥淪omebody had to put a stop to that flamethrower,鈥� Woodard said.

Charlottesville鈥檚 top prosecutor, Joseph D. Platania, said Preston鈥檚 no-contest plea was a form of taking responsibility, but to date the Klansman hasn鈥檛 shown any real remorse.

鈥淭his is about Preston鈥檚 conduct and the choice Mr. Preston made,鈥� Platania said.

A good citizen?

Appearing in a dark suit, white shirt and tie, Preston spent much of the hearing with his shoulders slumped forward as he listened to the proceedings. Woodard described his client as a good citizen who merely tried to defend others during 鈥淯nite the Right,鈥� while Platania talked about how dangerous his conduct was that day.

Woodard held forth for three minutes describing a World War I hero who helped fight off Germans attacking his stranded soldiers with flamethrowers. Woodard noted that those soldiers were hailed as heroes for beating back the attackers.

鈥淭he rules go out the window when flamethrowers are involved,鈥� Woodard said.

The hearing took an odd twist when Daryl Davis聽of Baltimore, a black man with a bushy mustache who works to get Klansmen to leave the organization, took the witness stand at the courthouse, which displays the quote 鈥淛ustice is the fundamental law of society鈥� from Thomas Jefferson and sits across the street from a park featuring Confederate Gen. Thomas 鈥淪tonewall鈥� Jackson.颅

Davis told Moore he鈥檚 known Preston for about five years. The two men were featured on CNN visiting the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of African American History and Culture. During that trip, and talked about his desire to be buried in his Klan robes upon his death.

During the hearing, Davis, who posted bond for Preston, said the two men have shared meals at each other鈥檚 homes and described how he gave away Preston鈥檚 bride during the Klansman鈥檚 wedding. The trip to the museum was good for both men, said Davis, who has four Ku Klux Klan robes from former Klansmen he鈥檚 convinced to leave the group.

鈥淗e learned a lot,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 learned a lot.鈥�

Preston didn鈥檛 appear to react to the testimony from Davis. But a few moments later, he stood, and in a voice cracking slightly, apologized for firing the shot, while also appearing to try to defend his actions.

鈥淚 am sorry,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 only had second to figure it out. 鈥� I didn鈥檛 want to hurt anybody.鈥�

鈥榊ou were mad鈥�

Judge Moore didn鈥檛 seem impressed with Preston鈥檚 remorse. Instead, Moore described the day of the rally as a 鈥減owder keg鈥� in downtown, with armed people roaming around, and mentioned video of Preston waving his gun and yelling earlier in the day. A 32-year-old paralegal, Heather Heyer, would die that day after being hit by a car that plowed into a crowd. A neo-Nazi sympathizer, 21-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder and federal hate crimes stemming from the incident.

Moore didn鈥檛 excuse Long鈥檚 behavior, noting the flamethrower was dangerous.

鈥淲hat he did was aggravating. 鈥� It was stupid,鈥� Moore said.

But Preston鈥檚 behavior throughout the day 鈥� including leaving the rally and returning to his car to retrieve the pistol used in the shooting 鈥� undercuts any claim of defending someone, Moore said. Firing the shot, even though it only hit dirt, could have precipitated something much worse, the judge told the court.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e just fortunate this didn鈥檛 turn into a gun battle,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you were thinking at all.鈥�

Woodard said Preston was merely trying to defend others and their right to gather in a public space and protest. It鈥檚 the same argument that 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� organizer Jason Kessler, who wasn鈥檛 at the court hearing, has made for more than a year.

Moore wasn鈥檛 having it, saying that historically, people defending their civil rights do so peacefully 鈥� and not armed.

鈥淵ou come and take your stand for a right,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 defend yourself if you stand for a right.鈥�

Moore then ordered Preston to prison. Preston turned and, without being handcuffed, walked through a back door of the courtroom to await assignment to a Virginia state prison and begin his sentence.