A right-wing livestreamer is at risk of getting evicted after a judge set his bond at $1 million last week.
Dalton Eatherly, also known as “Chud the Builder” online, is accused of multiple criminal charges across middle Tennessee, including attempted murder.
He appeared in court Friday for a bond hearing, hoping to get his bond reduced.
A Montgomery County judge said the amount had to be at least $1 million because of Eatherly’s other pending charges in Davidson County. He added that Eatherly was out of jail when those crimes occurred.
“I understand Mr. Eatherly has caused members of the community to be offended, but that shouldn’t affect bail,” Eatherly’s attorney argued.
The attorney, Jacob Fendley, made a motion to lower the bond, saying $1 million is “a lot for a shooting,” especially when the person shot, Joshua Fox, didn’t die, the Tennessean reported.
The shooting happened on May 13. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville for failing to pay for his meal and being disruptive days before.
District Attorney General Robert J. Nash argued Eatherly’s social media posts and actions are at the center of the case.
“The facts of this particular case are Mr. Eatherly has a business as ‘Chud the Builder,’ where he goes out to entice and provoke Black people for a response, which is what he did that day,” Nash argued, according to the Tennessean.
Nash also pointed to the intent behind the posts Eatherly made leading up to the shooting.
“Fox had a reason to be at the courthouse,” Nash said. “Eatherly had an appearance earlier in the day and had no cause to be back at the courthouse.”
The Tennessean reported Eatherly’s lawyer argued he wasn’t the primary aggressor that day. But authorities say Eatherley baited Fox into a verbal altercation that escalated to fighting and then shooting.
“Mr. Eatherly still has his First Amendment and should be allowed to speak,” Fendley said. “And regardless of what was said, Fox didn’t have a legal right to hit him.”
Fendley added that if the bond remained at $1 million, Eatherly would be evicted from his double-wide trailer.
Atlanta Black Star could not find any evidence that Eatherly has been evicted as of Monday.
The Tennessean reported that multiple people have stepped up to bail Eatherly out of jail. One Texas man even offered $500,000 to secure the controversial live streamer’s release.
Montgomery County Jail records show that Eatherly was still in custody as of Monday afternoon.
The judge said the cap per bondsman is $75,000, but he’d raise it to $100,000 in Eatherly’s case.
The Tennessean reported that if Eatherly posts bail, the judge has set a curfew requiring him to remain in his home from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day.
