Livestreamer known for racist content faces attempted murder charge with bond set at $1.25 million after courthouse shooting

By Emma Tucker, Caroll Alvarado, Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A livestreamer known for posting videos with racist content online appeared in court Friday morning on charges including attempted murder after he shot a man outside a Tennessee courthouse, according to authorities.

Dalton Eatherly – who goes by “Chud the Builder” online – got into an argument with another man, identified by Montgomery County officials as Joshua Fox, outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville Wednesday afternoon, according to an arrest warrant.

Eatherly, 28, turned his body “in a bladed stance” toward Fox and reached for a firearm in his jacket pocket, after which a “physical altercation” happened, the warrant said. Eatherly fired his weapon and Fox was struck multiple times, according to the document.

The livestreamer now faces additional charges including employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said.

During his arraignment and bond hearing, General Session Court Judge Reid Poland III set a $1.25 million bond, “based upon the fact of how many people were in the courtyard over here at the courthouse and the seriousness of all these felonies.”

Eatherly, wearing a marked Montgomery County Jail jumpsuit, could be seen closing his eyes for a while when the judge announced the bond amount.

Attempted criminal homicide carries a possible sentence of 15 to 60 years in a Tennessee state penitentiary, the judge said.

Eatherly’s track record on social media reveals a history of posting videos of him using racial slurs toward Black people and other minorities, including at least one instance of using force against a Black person. The streamer often refers to Black people as chimps in his online videos.

After Wednesday’s shooting, Eatherly livestreamed himself speaking to first responders. He recounted walking past a group of people who Eatherly said were “laughing” and “pointing at me.” Eatherly said he was told to walk away by one unidentified man in the group, who then approached Eatherly, saying, “I have PTSD.”

“He said, ‘You start saying all that chimp out s**t to me and ‘Imma hit you,’ and he hit me. He started whaling on me, even after I had to defend myself by shooting him,” Eatherly said in the video.

Fox – who officials said was initially detained along with Eatherly then released – was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and underwent emergency surgery, according to the warrant. Eatherly was also wounded by gunfire and taken to a hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

Although officials did not provide a description of Fox, a witness who said she saw the other man being loaded into the ambulance described him as Black to The Associated Press.

When shots were fired around 1:20 p.m., there were also several innocent bystanders in the area and surveillance video of the incident shows “a ricocheting projectile hitting nearby walls,” the warrant revealed. CNN has not been able to view the surveillance video.

A preliminary hearing for Eatherly was set for May 26.

Attorney Jake Fendley was appointed to represent Eatherly at the hearing. Court records show he has represented Eatherly in the past. CNN has reached out for comment.

Previous arrest tied to restaurant incident

Eatherly’s previous arrest came after another incident on Saturday, when he was kicked out of a restaurant in Nashville and later arrested and charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to an affidavit.

Prosecutors in that case described him as a livestreamer who “filmed content, including racially charged content” on social media, an affidavit said.

Eatherly had been asked by restaurant staff not to livestream or be disruptive inside the establishment but did so anyway, the affidavit says. When he was told to stop livestreaming, Eatherly became “disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming” and causing a scene, the affidavit said.

He then refused to pay for his meal costing $371.55 after allegedly stating, “I’m not paying if you are kicking me out,” the affidavit said.

Eatherly was taken into custody a few hours later. He initially pulled his arm away when officers tried to place him in handcuffs but was then arrested without further incident, the affidavit said. He was later granted release on a $5,000 bond, according to a judge’s order.

A hearing was scheduled at the Montgomery County Courthouse Wednesday morning – where the shooting happened – in a civil case between Eatherly and Midland Credit Management Inc., court records showed, but it’s unclear whether he appeared for the hearing. He allegedly owed a debt of $3,300 to the credit company, according to the county’s court records, the AP reported.

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