Richard Spencer Fan Gets 15 Years for Shooting at People Who Weren’t

Tyler Tenbrink, along with brothers William and Colton Fears, was arrested in Oct 17 for firing a shot at some people opposing Spencer that they were hassling.

Tyler Tenbrink, one of the many neo-fascists that participated in the tragic “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA has been sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday after pleading no contest to charges that he shot at antifascist protesters at a bus stop after a speech White supremacist Richard Spencer gave at the University of Florida in 2017.

According to Gainesville.com. Tenbrink, spoke very little, only saying “Yes, sir” to Circuit Judge James Colaw, but he did say he wanted to petition the Florida Department of Corrections to try to serve his sentence in his home state of Texas as opposed to Florida. “That would be ideal to be closer to my family and my children,” he said while being sentenced on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Tenbrink has two previous felony battery convictions from Texas.

Tenbrink travelled with his friends William and Colton Fears to hear Spencer speak on Oct. 19, 2017, just over two months after they were all in Charlottesville, and after Spencer was forced to end his speaking engagement early by an increasingly angry crowd that drowned him out, the trio left in a silver Jeep and pulled up to a bus stop at 3315 Archer Road, where they encountered a small group of people and began cheering Adolf Hitler and chanting. When one person reportedly hit the vehicle’s rear window with a baton, the car sped away before abruptly stopping. Tenbrink, according to police reports, got out of the car with a handgun and the Fears brothers yelled, “I’m going to fucking kill you,” “Kill them” and “Shoot them.” Tenbrink then reportedly fired one shot towards the group, but the shot missed and struck a building behind them. The three fled the scene but were arrested hours later.

Colton Fears, 30, who drove the Jeep, pled to the charge of accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder and could spend up to 15 years in prison. He had pledged to testify against Tenbrink as part of a plea agreement, and officials wanted to wait to sentence until after Tenbrink’s trial to ensure he testified truthfully. No sentencing date has been set at press time.

The 8th Circuit State Attorney’s Office opted not to prosecute William Fears, who is best known for being captured on video from Charlottesville yelling, “Fire the first shot in the race war baby!” Days after he was released, however, he was taken into custody by Texas officials on charges that he choked his then-girlfriend just days before the Gainesville trip. He was released on bond, but in June was again arrested, this time on a felony weapons possession charge. William Fears had prior domestic violence convictions.