One-Time Rising Nativist Star Arrested for Stabbing in Georgia

A judge in Georgia has denied bail for William Dustin Gold, a one-time rising star in anti-immigrant circles, following his arrest last week on charges he stabbed a 38-year-old reality TV producer with whom he was working.

Producer Marcus Fox had been shooting a commercial with Gold for several days at a Gainesville, Ga., car dealership as part of a President’s Day sales event. On Feb. 16, as production dragged on, tensions flared and a fight erupted at a rented home near Lake Lanier, about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, according to news reports. It was there, police said, that Gold stabbed Fox in the stomach.

Fox was rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he was listed Wednesday in stable condition.

Gold, 31, is the CEO and founder of William Gold Entertainment, a talent agency based in Connecticut. But as recently as five years ago, he was passionately active in protests against immigration policies in his hometown of New Haven.

In 2007, he organized a protest against the Elm City Resident Card program, which provided local government identification cards to be used by immigrants in New Haven to open bank accounts and access some city services. The rhetoric of his campaign led the SPLC to profile him in the Intelligence Report as one of the 20 most active and media savvy nativists in 2008.

That year, during an interview with The New Haven Register, Gold admitted he was “obsessed” with illegal immigration and confessed that his passions also led to brief flirtation with John Tanton’s network of anti-immigration organizations. At the time, Gold defended his own actions from accusations of racism, saying, “Since when is illegal alien a race?”

Over the years, Gold abandoned his concerns for the border in favor of brand consulting. His time in the anti-immigrant limelight faded –– surprisingly, considering his own regard for the infamy it afforded him –– and he dedicated his time increasingly to his business.

Gold is scheduled to appear in court again on March 9. Messages left Wednesday with his company were not returned.