Crime & Safety

Two Pasadena Men Arrested At White Supremacist Rally In Florida

William and Colton Fears are in the Alachua County Jail SWith bond set at $1million each

GAINESVILLE, FL — Two Pasadena men were arrested Thursday after they threatened protesters outside of a Richard Spencer rally at the University of Florida on Thursday.

Brothers Colton Fears, 28, and William Fears, 30 of Pasadena, and Tyler Tenbrink, 28, of Richmond, were taken to the Alachua County Jail and are charged with attempted murder after shooting at protesters.

Officials said the Fears brothers and Tenbrink drove up to the rally in a silver Jeep, shouting obscenities and taunting protesters with Nazi salutes.

Find out what's happening in Pasadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

(Want to get daily news updates and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Pasadena Patch morning newsletter.)

Tensions escalated further when one of the protesters hit the Jeep with a baton, leading William and Colton Fears to encourage Tenbrink to shoot at and kill the protesters.

Find out what's happening in Pasadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Officials said Tenbrink took out a gun and fired a shot at protesters standing at a bus stop, which hit a building nearby, KPRC reported.

Tenbrink, who is a convicted felon, faces addition charges of having a weapon in his possession, KIAH reported.

The three men drove off, but one of the protesters gave police a license plate number for the Jeep.

An off-duty Alachua County deputy spotted the three men on Interstate 75 and police conducted a felony stop on the Jeep.

All three men are in the Alachua County Jail.

The Fears brothers are each being held on $1 million bond and Tenbrink is under a $3 million bond.

Image: Self-described white nationalist Colton Fears, of Pasadena, Texas, speaks to members of the media as demonstrators gather near the site of a planned speech by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term 'alt-right', at the University of Florida campus on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. Fears was later arrested, along with his brother William Fears and friend Tyler Tenbrink, in relation to a shooting following the speech. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.