Miami: Three men were arrested after a
shooting following white supremacist Richard Spencer's
controversial speech at the University of Florida, police have
said.
Spencer, leader of the so-called "alt-right" movement --
encompassing white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux
Klan -- appeared on Thursday on campus in Gainesville, in the
north of the state.
Just over an hour after his speech ended, three of
Spencer's followers stopped their car in front of a group of
anti-racism protesters at a bus stop, police said in a
statement yesterday.
Authorities said they then threatened the protesters with
Nazi salutes, chanting slogans about Hitler, before one of
them, 28-year-old Tyler Tenbrink, pulled out a gun and shot at
the group. The bullet hit a nearby building.
Tenbrink was arrested along with brothers William and
Colton Fears, aged 30 and 28 respectively. The three were
charged with attempted murder.
"This incident and how quickly it was handled displays
the true teamwork that went into yesterday's Unified Command
Center activation," said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell.
Spencer, who helped organise a white supremacist rally
that erupted in deadly violence in Charlottesville earlier
this year, was shouted down by hundreds of protesters Thursday
-- forcing him to leave the stage at the University of Florida
without delivering his planned speech.
Fearing a repetition of Charlottesville, Florida governor
Rick Scott had declared a state of emergency Monday to beef up
security ahead of Spencer's arrival -- which also sparked a
street protest of around 1,500 people.
