RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia man and self-described Ku Klux Klan leader was convicted Tuesday on multiple misdemeanor charges brought after he drove his truck into a crowd of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in Richmond on June 7.
Harry H. Rogers, 36, of Hanover, Virginia, was not found guilty of hate crimes, but the judge did impose the maximum sentence allowed on each misdemeanor charge, including four counts of assault, a hit-and-run and destruction of property, The Washington Post reported.
A Henrico county judge finds Harry Rogers, a self-proclaimed KKK leader, guilty of six misdemeanors after he drove into a group of protesters in June.
— Alex Thorson (@Alex8news) August 10, 2020
3 felonies will be considered by a grand jury next month. @8NEWS
Story: https://t.co/otQ48gHiTx pic.twitter.com/6Ht8T7dvt8
Rogers was sentenced to a total of six years in prison, or one year for each count, and still faces three felony charges of attempted malicious wounding — one count for each of the three people struck — in connection with the same incident, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
No fatalities or life-threatening injuries resulted from the June 7 incident, and the hate crime charges would only have served as sentencing enhancements if Rogers had been found guilty, the Times-Dispatch reported.
“They scattered like cockroaches. It’s kind of funny if you ask me,” Rogers wrote in a Facebook live video he posted after the incident, the newspaper reported.
“Even without the recognition of the sentencing enhancement, the court still found the defendant’s behavior to be of such significance that he still imposed maximum sentence,” Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said following Tuesday’s sentencing.
“Mr. Rogers is a very thoughtful person, and he has not yet decided if he will appeal, but it is likely,” Rogers’ attorney George Townsend said in an emailed statement to the Post.
Read more here.
Cox Media Group