Christopher Cantwell , a white supremacist now infamously known as the “crying Nazi,” has surrendered to the police.
The self-proclaimed white nationalist recently rose to prominence after a Vice documentary covering the Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally went viral. In the documentary, Cantwell is often seen acting tough, calling black people “animals” and making anti-Semitist statements. He also criticized President Trump for “giving his daughter to a Jew.” Many times through the documentary, he categorically stated that he and other members of his group are willing to kill their opponents “if we have to.”
He also justified the death of a 32-year-old woman who was killed while demonstrating against the rally, saying, “I think that a lot more people are going to die before we’re done here.”
Mr. Cantwell was seen taking part in a torch-lit parade held at the University of Virginia, chanting racist, anti-Semitic, and neo-Nazi slogans.
Later on, Christopher Cantwell became an object of ridicule as the “crying Nazi” after he posted a video of himself on August 12, crying and saying he was “terrified” and “afraid” the police would kill him. In the video, he gave his phone number and asked authorities to contact him, saying that he’s been “receiving death threats faster than I can listen to them.” Since the video was published, people made fun of him online, resulting in a plethora of videos contrasting the seemingly tough Cantwell with the crying one.
On Monday, University of Virginia police issued warrants for Christopher Cantwell’s arrest on three felony charges involving the illegal use of teargas at the Charlottesville rally on August 11.
White supremacist Christopher Cantwell hands himself over to police https://t.co/iMDZFecGJv
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 24, 2017
The 36-year-old Cantwell, who resides in New Hampshire, told New York Times on Monday that he thought the charges were made on account of an encounter he had with a journalist whom he admits to attacking with a pepper spray .
Authorities have issued warrants for Christopher Cantwell, the white nationalist featured in a viral Vice News video https://t.co/zOAgFk7uNe
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 23, 2017
On Monday, Emily Gorcenski, an activist for transgender rights, said in an interview that she filed a report against Cantwell with the University of Virginia police on August 12. In her complaint, she explained that the night before, she was standing to Cantwell’s right side when she saw him pepper spraying a group of people who were protesting against the torch-lit march being held by white supremacists at the campus.
“He sprayed basically the whole group,” Ms. Gorcenski said. “The whole thing was scary. I was targeted by people wearing swastika pins. It was terrifying.”
University of Virginia Police Department issued a statement saying that Christopher Cantwell is currently behind bars at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Lynchburg, Virginia.
[Featured Image by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images]
