William Fears indicted in Texas for choking girlfriend
William Henry Fears was indicted in the state of Texas’s Harris County District Court on February 20, 2018 for “Assault of Family Member - Impeding Breathing.”
Fears, 30, gained some notoriety as one of a pair of Pasadena, Texas brothers arrested after a friend and fellow white nationalist, Tyler Tenbrink allegedly discharged a firearm in the aftermath of Richard Spencer’s October 19, 2017 speech at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Fears was up to that point a known commodity in the white nationalist scene, having appeared at demonstrations in Austin, TX, Houston TX, New Orleans, LA, and Charlottesville, VA, among others.
Fears’ indictment goes on to detail the nature of his alleged assault against the “the Complainant, a person with whom the Defendant had a dating relationship, by impeding the normal breathing and circulation of the blood of the Complainant by applying pressure to the Complainant’s throat.”
The court then lays out Fears’ prior convictions, which include a conviction for “felony offense of Sale or Transfer of Firearms” in June of 2013 and “the felony offense of Aggravated Kidnapping” in March of 2010.
Hatewatch previously documented that Fears attended Richard Spencer’s Gainesville event while Texas law enforcement were searching for him in relation to the alleged domestic abuse of his girlfriend.
Shortly after the Gainesville event concluded, the trio were arrested in a Jeep after Tenbrink, a felon, allegedly fired a gun and struck a nearby building after the Fears brothers shouted at him to “kill them” and “shoot them,” referring to a group of protesters.
The Fears brothers and Tenbrink appeared to revel in the attention they received in Gainesville, both from protesters and the media. Tenbrink proclaimed his dedication to the “14 words” and William Fears spoke of his desire to be martyred for his beliefs. Fears was also visible in footage from the disastrous Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally on August 12, 2017, shouting “Shoot! Fire the first shot of the race war!”
Colton Fears and Tyler Tenbrink still remain in custody in Alachua County, Florida for their role in the October, 2017 shooting. It is unknown at this time if Fears still faces charges in that state.
Photo credit: Brian Blanco/Getty Images
