Livestreamer “Chud the Builder” has been charged with attempted murder following a confrontation that involved an exchange of gunfire outside a Tennessee courthouse Wednesday, authorities said.
The controversial 28-year-old streamer, whose real name is Dalton Eatherly and who is known for using offensive racial language, was involved in a confrontation around 1:20 p.m. outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, District Attorney General Robert J. Nash of the 19th Judicial District said in a statement.
The incident with an “unknown male” escalated to gunfire, Nash said.
Both sustained gunshot wounds, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said.
Eatherly was the person who opened fire, and he appeared to have shot himself in the arm, the news website Clarksville Now reported, citing Nash.
The two people were taken to hospitals and were stable, the sheriff’s office said.
Eatherly was charged with attempted murder, employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, and aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said.
He was being held in the Montgomery County jail, pending an arraignment at which time the bond will be set.
“It’s unfortunate that incidents like this are happening in our community. This kind of violence won’t be tolerated,” Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson said in a news release.
Eatherly was scheduled to appear at the courthouse at 9 a.m. Wednesday as the defendant in a contract/debt case, according to online dockets.
Eatherly is a controversial online personality, known for posting “rage-bait” content, repeatedly using racial slurs and challenging people to fight him.
He was arrested Sunday in Nashville after he was alleged to have walked out on a restaurant bill and resisted arrest, according to court documents.
In the alleged incident, Eatherly went to Bob’s Steak & Chop House, where he was asked not to livestream. When he was caught streaming and was asked to stop, “he became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming,” a probable cause affidavit said.
He also said, “I’m not paying if you are kicking me out,” and refused to pay his $371.55 bill, according to the affidavit. He was charged with disorderly conduct and theft of services, it said.
The next day, officers saw him walking down a street in Nashville and detained him on outstanding warrants, according to a separate affidavit. He pulled his arm away when officers tried to handcuff him, resulting in the resisting arrest charge, the affidavit said.
No attorney for him in those cases was listed. He is due back in court on those charges on July 17.
