Livestreamer known for posting racist content faces attempted murder charge after shooting outside courthouse

By Emma Tucker, Caroll Alvarado, CNN

(CNN) — A livestreamer known for posting controversial videos using racial slurs toward Black people and other minorities is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after a shooting in front of a Tennessee courthouse Wednesday, officials said.

The shooting happened during a confrontation between Dalton Eatherly, who goes by Chud the Builder online, and another man, who authorities have not identified, outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, the Tennessee District Attorney General’s Office said.

Both men were shot and taken to nearby hospitals where they were in stable condition as of early Wednesday evening, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Officials did not provide a description of the victims, but a witness who said she saw the other man being loaded into the ambulance described him as Black to the Associated Press.

It’s unclear how the shooting unfolded or what led up to it, but “two adult males” were detained by deputies following what the sheriff’s office said was an altercation that escalated.

Several hours later after an investigation, the sheriff’s office said, Eatherly was detained by criminal investigators and charged.

In addition to attempted murder, Eatherly, 28, was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

He is being held at the Montgomery County jail without bond until his arraignment and bond hearing, set for Friday morning, according to the office of District Attorney General Robert Nash. CNN is working to determine if Eatherly has legal representation.

Eatherly livestreamed himself speaking to first responders after the incident.

He recounted walking past a group of people who Eatherly said were “laughing” and “pointing at me.” Eatherly said he was told to walk away by one unidentified man in the group, who then approached Eatherly, saying, “I have PTSD.”

“He said, ‘You start saying all that chimp out s**t to me and ‘imma hit you,’ and he hit me, he started whaling on me, even after I had to defend myself by shooting him,” Eatherly said in the video. The streamer often refers to Black people as chimps in his online videos.

“It’s unfortunate that incidents like this are happening in our community,” Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson said in the statement. “This kind of violence won’t be tolerated, and our office will work to make sure those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

History of controversy

Days earlier, on Saturday, Eatherly was kicked out of a restaurant and arrested in Nashville the next day on charges of theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to an affidavit. He was asked by restaurant staff not to livestream or be disruptive inside the establishment but did so anyway, the affidavit says.

Prosecutors in that case described Eatherly as a livestreamer “who filmed content, including racially charged content” on social media, the affidavit says.

When restaurant staff told him to stop live streaming, Eatherly became “disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming” and causing a scene, the affidavit said.

Eatherly then allegedly stated, “I’m not paying if you are kicking me out,” and then refused to pay for his meal costing $371.55, the affidavit said.

A few hours after the incident, officers found Eatherly walking on a street. When they told him he was under arrest and tried to place him in handcuffs, he pulled his arm away, the affidavit said. He was then arrested without further incident, it said.

Eatherly was later granted release on a $5,000 bond, according to a judge’s order.

A hearing was scheduled at the Montgomery County Courthouse Wednesday morning in a civil case between Eatherly and Midland Credit Management Inc., court records showed. He allegedly owed a debt of $3,300 to the credit company, according to Montgomery County court records, the AP reported.

It’s unclear whether Eatherly appeared for the 9 a.m. hearing on Wednesday, prior to the shooting.

Other videos Eatherly posted on social media outline a history of using racial slurs and at least one instance of using force against a Black person.

Eatherly could be seen spraying what appears to be a chemical agent at a Black man and repeatedly calling him “N***er” after the man knocked the hat off his head, according to a video he posted to X last week.

Eatherly’s conduct has been met with criticism, including from right-wing personalities like Nick Fuentes, a well-known White nationalist and Holocaust denier.

On Fuentes’ podcast, he was asked a question about Eatherly, to which he responded that he doesn’t like “that approach of antagonizing people in public … I think it’s wrong, it’s unethical.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Ryan Young, Kelly McCleary and Nina Giraldo contributed to this report.