Christopher Cantwell has become one of the alt-right faces of the Charlottesville violence. The "Radical Agenda" call-in talk show host is wanted by University of Virginia Police for three felonies connected with unrest at the Aug. 12 United the Right rally.
The rally that turned violent has become a national flashpoint for preservation of Confederate monuments, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported, and the media have made Cantwell an alt-right star of sorts.
Authorities urged Cantwell, who was featured on the HBO series "Vice News" on Aug. 14, to turn himself in. He is wanted on two counts of illegal use of tear gas and one count of malicious bodily injury, the Daily Progress said.
Cantwell said he intends to turn himself in but expressed frustration with law enforcement over not working with his lawyers, per the Daily Progress.
"It's all just been so confusing since the authorities would rather leak conflicting information to media than communicate honestly with my attorney," Cantwell said.
WWBT-TV reported a YouTube video had Cantwell saying he was afraid authorities would kill him in prison.
Cantwell admitted he used pepper spray against a man but charged that he did it in self-defense after he was attacked, NBC News reported.
"I presume this is the accusation because I certainly wasn't running around pepper spraying innocent people, like the communists who attacked us did," Cantwell said, per NBC News.
The Southern Poverty Law Center said Cantwell hosts a call-in talk show where he argues for a white state, per the Daily Progress.
During the United the Right Rally, counter-protester Heather Heyer was killed and numerous others injured when a car drove into them. Authorities later arrested James Alex Fields Jr., of Ohio, and charged him with second-degree murder, the Daily Progress said.
In the Vice News interview, Cantwell said he believed the vehicle incident "was more than justified," while calling counter-protesters "stupid animals" who "couldn't just get out of the way of his car," USA Today reported.