The Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office issued four warrants for the arrest of a white nationalist featured in a VICE News documentary that aired August 14, reports The Hill.
Christopher Cantwell, 36, of Keene, New Hampshire, was recently featured in the documentary, Charlottesville: Race and Terror, about the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month when white nationalists were met by peaceful counterprotesters at an alt-right rally. One white supremacist killed a woman when he allegedly drove his car purposefully into a crowd of counterprotesters.
In the video, Cantwell denounces Jews and declares, “more people are gonna die before we’re done here,” reports the Boston Globe.
Cantwell is wanted for illegal use of gases and injury by caustic agent or explosive. Both are felony charges according to the Boston Globe. The suspect told the New York Times that he was willing to turn himself in for the alleged crimes, which stemmed from an incident in which he pepper sprayed a man coming towards him, and suggested he was acting in self-defense. A journalist captured the incident on camera.
“I thought that spraying that guy was the least damaging thing I could do. In my left hand I had a flashlight. My other option, other than the pepper spray, was to break this guy’s teeth. OK? And I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted him to not hurt me.”
In a YouTube video following the events in Charlottesville, Cantwell fights back tears as he discusses the possibility of arrest for his actions in Virginia. He gave his phone number on the video and said authorities could contact him.
“I want to be peaceful. I want to be law-abiding.”
According to the New York Times, Cantwell claimed he got voicemails “recording death threats faster than I can listen to them.”
Cantwell is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an “anti-Semitic, ‘alt-right’ shock jock and an unapologetic fascist who spews white nationalist propaganda.” He also hosts an anti-Semitic, alt-right live streamed call-in show. He’s originally from New York, but moved to New Hampshire in 2012 as part of the “free state” movement, reported the Boston Globe.
Cantwell claimed that since the VICE documentary aired, his PayPal account was shut down, and his Facebook and Instagram accounts were deactivated as a result of company policies against hate groups. He was also banned from OKCupid.
OkCupid released a statement after they banned him for life.
“There is no room for hate in a place where you’re looking for love. If any OkCupid members come across people involved in hate groups, please report it immediately.”
Additional reporting by Leigh Egan
[Feature Photo: Screenshot/YouTube]
