Charlottesville protest organizer released on perjury charge

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The chief organizer of a white nationalist rally in Virginia has been released on bond after being arrested on a perjury charge unrelated to the rally.

Jason Kessler briefly appeared Wednesday in Albemarle County Circuit Court. A court clerk said he was released on bond.

Kessler didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment. Court records didn’t list an attorney for him.

Kessler planned the Aug. 12 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. A woman was killed when a car plowed into a group of people at the rally, where white nationalists and counterprotesters clashed.

The perjury charge stems from a sworn statement Kessler made in January, alleging he was punched while gathering signatures for a petition to remove a city councilman. Kessler later pleaded guilty to assaulting the man he accused.