White supremacist back in Texas jail, this time on gun possession charges

A bond hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning in Houston for William Henry Fears IV of Pasadena, Texas. Fears, 30, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, stemming from an incident on August 26, 2017. His felony conviction seven years earlier was for aggravated kidnapping.

Fears, his brother Colton, and a third person, Tyler Tenbrink, each gained a measure of fame when alt-right front man Richard Spencer spoke at the University of Florida in October. Following the event, police arrested the trio after shots were fired near the campus, but prosecutors later dropped attempted murder charges against William Fears.

All three trekked from the Houston suburbs to Gainesville, Florida for the Spencer event, where they drew immediate media attention.

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 racist “14 words” mantra, 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!”

Police say the men pulled up in a silver Jeep at the corner of 34th Street and Archer Road, just blocks away from the venue Spencer spoke at, and struck up an argument with a group of protesters. Witnesses said the trio became belligerent, throwing out Nazi salutes and praising Adolf Hitler. Then the Fears brothers allegedly urged Tenbrink to shoot the protesters.

According to law enforcement, Tenbrink pulled his gun, fired one shot, missed the group and the trio sped off.

Later that night, law enforcement arrested the three for attempted murder, setting a $3 million bond for Tenbrink and a $1 million bond for each of the Fears brothers.

Tenbrink is a felon, so he faces an additional charge for illegally possessing a firearm. William Fears was later released on his own recognizance.

Colton Fears and Tenbrink, both of whom are from the Houston, Texas area, are set for trial in September in Gainesville, where they are currently jailed.

At the time of his arrest in Florida, William Fears, a known commodity on the white supremacist circuit, was wanted in Texas on charges that he choked a woman he was dating. He was free on bond before being arrested again on Tuesday.

Those charges are still pending against Fears, who has been convicted of aggravated kidnapping in Smith County, Texas.