Tennessee man known for racist videos held on $1.25M bond for courthouse shooting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who goes by the moniker Chud the Builder and is known for posting racist videos to social media was given a $1.25 million preliminary bond on attempted murder and other charges on Friday.

Dalton Eatherly, 28, is accused of shooting another person in the middle of the day on Wednesday outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during an altercation.

An affidavit filed with the arrest warrant says that Eatherly and the other man “engaged in a verbal altercation” at about 1:19 p.m. “During this verbal altercation, Mr. Eatherly turned his body in a bladed stance … and reached for his firearm located in his right jacket pocket. Thereafter, a physical altercation ensued.”

Eatherly fired, striking the other man multiple times. The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Nashville, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to the affidavit. Police have said the man was in stable condition after surgery. The hospital has declined to give out information about his condition, citing medical privacy laws.

The affidavit notes that there were “several innocent bystanders” outside the courthouse when Eatherly shot his gun. “Surveillance video of the incident shows a ricocheting projectile hitting nearby walls.” Audio recording and witness accounts of the shooting also indicate that Eatherly shot himself in the arm.

At an arraignment on Friday, prosecutors asked that he be held without bond until there can be a full hearing next week. Judge H. Reid Poland III declined that recommendation but set a high bond nonetheless, “based upon the fact of how many people were here in the courtyard or at the courthouse and the seriousness of these felonies.”

In addition to the attempted murder charge, Eatherly faces charges of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

Poland also noted that Eatherly had previously been released on bond in two other cases. He faces a harassment charge in Montgomery County from November. He was also charged last week in Nashville’s Davidson County with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

An attorney who was appointed to represent Eatherly on the felony charges Friday, Jacob Fendley, responded to questions about the case with an email that does not address the charges but addresses “hateful phone calls and emails my office has been receiving.” Fendley said he has a history of service to people of all skin colors, and the idea that he or his staff are racists is “simply ridiculous.”

“The role of a criminal defense attorney is to represent people regardless of their race, religion, ideology, or allegations against them,” he wrote.

Eatherly, who is white, posts videos to social media where he tries to provoke Black passersby by using racial slurs and racist dog whistles. Although police have not responded to questions about the race of the person he shot, a witness described him as Black.

Eatherly was being held in the Montgomery County jail on Friday, according to jail records. A full bond hearing is scheduled on May 21, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 26.