Judge Denies Bail for Man Charged in 2017 Charlottesville March

A judge denied bond Friday to a man accused in the 2017 White supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, citing allegations the man continued to participate in antisemitic incidents after the infamous event at the University of Virginia.

Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell said he “can’t believe” the defendant, Tyler Bradley Dykes, 25, “will be on good behavior” if he were to be released from jail while he awaits trial.

Worrell said he believed there was a risk Dykes would destroy evidence, citing a Telegram message Dykes sent to associates after an arrest earlier this year saying, “I’m arrested by Virginia. Nuke my account.” Dykes allegedly sent the message to a group with other “extremist” individuals, which prosecutors said was used to discuss potential future violence against minorities.

Dykes is charged with a felony, of burning an object with the “intent to intimidate” during the 2017 march, the evening before the deadly “Unite the Right” rally. A second man facing the same charge, Will Zachary Smith, was also scheduled to have a bond hearing Friday but the hearing was postponed.

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Bryan Jones, Dykes’ defense lawyer, called Dykes’ father, Scott, to testify. {snip}

In a particularly stunning moment, Tufts approached Scott Dykes and showed him a picture of a man accused of placing swastika stickers on local businesses in Sumter, South Carolina, which read “We are everywhere.”

“Does that look like your son,” Tufts asked of the picture, acknowledging the man in the picture has not officially been charged with any crime.

“Looks like it could be,” Scott Dykes said.

Arguing Dykes was not a danger, Jones said, “Even if any of those allegations brought up by the Commonwealth are true, they didn’t result in criminal charges.”

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A third defendant, Dallas Medina of Ravenna, Ohio, was arrested Monday, according to court records, but is not in custody.

The three defendants have not entered formal pleas. {snip}

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Prosecutors said Monday the “burning an object with the intent to intimidate” charge is a low-level felony offense, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. {snip}

The burning an object law came about to curb racist terror committed by the KKK, like cross burning, UVA law professor Anne M. Coughlin told CNN on Friday.

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It is “plausible” more of the hundreds of participants in the rally could be charged, she said, though that decision would be up to James Hingeley, the commonwealth’s attorney for Albemarle County.

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