White supremacist Christopher Cantwell first went viral as the star of a Vice documentary about the Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally. Then he went viral again as the “crying Nazi” when he posted video of himself tearing up, afraid that the police were after him. But it looks like Cantwell will now be doing all his crying in jail after surrendering to the cops in Virginia late last night.
University of Virginia police issued warrants for Cantwell’s arrest on three felony charges on Monday involving his alleged use of tear gas in Charlottesville on August 11th. Cantwell portrayed himself as quite the tough guy in the now infamous Vice documentary where he called black people “animals.” In the video, he brandished a shocking number of guns and said that his movement of white supremacists accepted that violence was necessary to establish a white ethno-state.
“I think that a lot more people are going to die before we’re done here,” Cantwell bragged when talking about the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville by a neo-Nazi terrorist. Dozens more were injured when suspect James Alex Fields, Jr. used his car to drive into counter protestors at the rally.
But the stark contrast between Cantwell’s tough talk to Vice and his whimpering like a baby, immediately after learning that the police might be looking for him, turned him into an object of ridicule. People online cut together videos that contrasted Cantwell bragging with his crying.
The clip went instantly went viral after the massive amount of media coverage, helped along by President Trump’s comments that the neo-Nazi protestors included some “very fine people.” But there’s nothing funnier than watching a tough guy get humbled, especially when that tough guy is a literal neo-Nazi.
The 36-year-old Cantwell, reportedly from Keene, New Hampshire, told the New York Times a few days ago that he thought the charges might stem from an altercation he had with a journalist that he admits to pepper spraying.
“I thought that spraying that guy was the least damaging thing I could do,” he told the Times. “In my left hand I had a flashlight. My other option, other than the pepper spray, was to break this guy’s teeth. O.K.? And I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted him to not hurt me.”
Cantwell says that his life has been ruined since the rally, and he’s even been kicked off OkCupid.
“OkCupid has zero tolerance for racism. We make a lot of decision every day that are tough. Banning Christopher Cantwell was not one of them,” the dating site said in a statement.
University of Virginia Police Department released a statement saying that Cantwell is currently being held at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Lynchburg, Virginia waiting to be transported to Charlottesville. University of Virginia police has asked that any additional witnesses or victims from the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville contact them at 434-924-7166 or police@virginia.edu.
President Trump could not be reached by publication time to confirm whether Cantwell is one of the “very fine people” the president keeps defending.
Source: ‘Crying Nazi’ Christopher Cantwell Surrenders to Police