Texas judge hikes bond on white supremacist William Fears
A Texas judge has increased the bond for a white supremacist charged with choking his girlfriend.
William Henry Fears IV, 30, posted bail Monday and was released from jail, hours after Judge Maria T. Jackson ordered him taken into custody.
Court records do not indicate why Jackson raised the bond amount for Fears, who is accused of hitting and choking a woman near Spring, Texas, on October 7. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not return a message from the Southern Poverty Law Center seeking comment.
The move comes just days after prosecutors in Florida dropped attempted murder charges against Fears, citing a lack of evidence and speedy trial obligations.
The Florida charges stemmed from an incident after white supremacist Richard Spencer spoke on the University of Florida campus.
William Fears, his 29-year-old brother Colton Gene Fears and a friend, 29-year-old Tyler Tenbrink, got into a confrontation October 19, not far from campus after Spencer’s speech that day.
Police say the trio pulled up in a silver Jeep at the corner of 34th Street and Archer Road, just blocks away from the venue Spencer spoke at, and struck up an argument with a group of protesters. Witnesses said the trio became belligerent, throwing out Nazi salutes and praising Adolf Hitler. Then the Fears brothers allegedly urged Tenbrink to shoot the protesters.
According to law enforcement, Tenbrink pulled his gun, fired one shot, missed the group and the trio sped off.
Later that night, law enforcement arrested the three for attempted murder, setting a $3 million bond for Tenbrink and a $1 million bond for each of the Fears brothers.
Tenbrink is a felon, so he faces an additional charge for illegally possessing a firearm. William Fears was later released on his own recognizance.
Colton Fears and Tenbrink, both of whom are from the Houston, Texas, area are set for trial June 11 in Gainesville, where they are currently jailed.
