Two white nationalists yelled ‘shoot them,’ another fired a shot. All three ended up in jail

Three men were arrested after one of them fired a shot toward people after a white nationalist speech’s at University of Florida on Thursday.

Tyler Tenbrink, 28, of Richmond, Texas, Colton Fears, 28, and his brother William Fears, 30, both of Pasadena, Texas are all charged with attempted homicide. Tenbrink also faces charges of possession of a firearm by convicted felon.

Two of the men have ties to extremist groups, according to the Gainesville Police Department.

The Miami Herald reports Tenbrink and William Fears, 30, were spotted at Charlottesville, where white nationalists gathered and violence erupted. Fears identifies himself on Twitter as “Charismatic leader of a White breeding cult” and tweeted “blood and soil,” the notorious Nazi slogan.

Tenbrink and Colton Fears were two of very few pro-Spencer activists who spoke to media Thursday. Tenbrink was captured on video jumping a police barricade to avoid angry protesters and was promptly detained by cops.

Police received a report around 5:30 p.m. Thursday that a silver Jeep stopped and those inside started arguing with protesters, threatening them, chanting about Hitler and throwing out Nazi salutes toward a group near a bus stop on Archer Road.

During the argument, a person at the bus stop hit a rear window of the Jeep with a baton, according to the arrest report. The Jeep drove forward about 10 feet and stopped.

Tenbrink got out with a handgun. The brothers shouted “kill them” and “shoot them,” according to the arrest report.

Tenbrink fired one shot, which struck a building, police said. No one was injured.

One of the victims was able to get a license plate number from the Jeep and called law enforcement before the Jeep sped off, according to the arrest report.

Because Richard Spencer, a prominent white nationalist speaker, was on University of Florida’s campus Thursday, there was an increased law enforcement presence from local, state and national authorities. Working with the FBI, local police were quickly able to identify the Jeep and the occupants and released the information to other law enforcement, according to a news release.

“I am amazed that immediately after being shot at, a victim had the forethought to get the vehicle’s license number” Officer Ben Tobias, the spokesman for Gainesville Police Department, said in a release. “That key piece of information allowed officials from every level of multiple agencies to quickly identify and arrest these persons. This was an amazing team effort by everyone involved.”

An off-duty Alachua County deputy searched for the vehicle north of its last known location after working the Spencer event. Around 9 p.m., the deputy found the Jeep and units from Alachua Police Department, High Springs Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol stopped the vehicle near the 404 mile marker of Interstate 75 North, about 20 miles north of Gainesville, according to police.

All three men were arrested. A fourth person was also in the vehicle but was not named, according to the arrest report.

Tedbrink later admitted to police that he was the shooter.

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

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Two white nationalists yelled ‘shoot them,’ another fired a shot. All three ended up in jail."