Next and Again on the White Power Chopping Block: Jason Kessler

Perjury because video shown during his assault trial last winter showed he lied when he said he was hit first. You realize they could have locked him up months ago and kept Aug. 12 from ever happening, right? 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Jason Kessler, the White supremacist who organized the “Unite the Right” rally on Aug 12 which saw neo-Nazis attacking counterdemonstrators and killing one when one neo-fascist drove into a crowd of people, has been indicted on charges of perjury stemming from the assault case which he was convicted of in January.

On Jan. 22, Kessler, 34, was at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, trying to collect signatures on a petition to oust the city’s only Black Councilor Wes Bellamy when James Justin Taylor approached him. Things got heated to the point that Kessler punched Taylor in the face, resulting in his arrest and conviction. Kessler filed an assault charge against Taylor, however, accusing him of violently grabbing the petition and punching him, but video of the incident showed no such action took place. The perjury indictment stems from the sworn statement Kessler made to a magistrate judge. Kessler was arrested on Tuesday and released on a $5000 bond, and also made an appearance in Albemarle Circuit Court on Wednesday morning.

According to court records, Kessler plans to hire his own attorney. They also note he is currently unemployed but has plans to move to Ohio for an opportunity working in sales.

Kessler is the latest “Unite the Right” rally participant to face charges for the role they played in the event, the neo-Fascists being the predominant arrests made. Very few counterdemonstrators have been arrested and some were arrested and charged with assaulting Kessler during a press conference he held in Charlottesville the day after the rally. He has also had a falling out with White supremacists, notably Richard Spencer and Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet in the wake of the rally after Kessler posted a tweet insulting Heather Heyer, the 34-year-old paralegal and Charlottesville resident who was killed when a car allegedly driven by James Alex Fields Jr., plowed through a crowd and killed her.

Kessler next court date is scheduled for Dec. 4.