CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Baltimore Ku Klux Klan leader charged with firing a pistol during a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville has been denied bail despite his claim that he acted in self-defense. Richard Wilson Preston is accused
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Baltimore Ku Klux Klan leader charged with firing a pistol during a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville has been denied bail despite his claim that he acted in self-defense.
Richard Wilson Preston is accused of firing a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school during the August rally.
The Daily Progress reports Preston told a judge Thursday that he drew his pistol twice: first when he was threatened by a man he thought was going to throw a newspaper box at him and again when threatened by a man with a nail-laden stick.
He said he fired a shot after a friend was threatened by a counterprotester holding a makeshift flamethrower.
The judge’s ruling means Preston will remain in the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail pending a December hearing.
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Information from: The Daily Progress, http://www.dailyprogress.com
