KKK Leader Charlottesville: No Contest Plea for Firing Gun at Rally

 (Leo Lintang / Dreamstime.com)

Wednesday, 09 May 2018 02:31 PM EDT ET

A KKK leader who attended the Charlottesville white nationalist rally last summer has pleaded no contest to firing a gun during the event.

Court records show Richard W. Preston entered the plea Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. He was charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.

Authorities said Preston was shown in video of the incident yelling and firing a handgun once while standing on a sidewalk crowded with rally-goers and counterprotesters. No one was struck with the bullet.

Preston has previously said he was acting in self-defense.

A plea of no contest means a defendant acknowledges there's enough evidence to convict him but doesn't admit he committed the crime. The plea has the same effect as a guilty plea.

Court records show Preston will be sentenced Wednesday morning.

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


TheWire
A KKK leader who attended the Charlottesville white nationalist rally last summer has pleaded no contest to firing a gun during the event.
kkk, leader, charlottesville, plea, gun
133
2018-31-09
Wednesday, 09 May 2018 02:31 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

View on Newsmax