White nationalist who organized Charlottesville rally is indicted for felony perjury

Jason Kessler, the white nationalist who organized the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, has been indicted by a Virginia grand jury for felony perjury related to a sworn statement he made in January.

According to a local ABC affiliate, Kessler gave a statement to a magistrate claiming that he was assaulted by a man named James Taylor while trying to gather signatures for a petition. However, Kessler later pleaded guilty to assaulting Taylor, resulting in assault charges against Taylor being dismissed.

Kessler allegedly punched Taylor in the face after a squabble over the petition took place.

“He and his buddy came over, they scribbled on my petition and vandalized it,” Kessler said according to WHSV. “James didn’t want to have a conversation with me, he yelled you’re a….and he called me a name. I felt threatened and I hit him to get him away from me.”

Taylor claimed he simply voiced his dislike for Kessler’s petition, which sought to have a public official removed from office.

“He handed me his clipboard so I could read it and I handed it back to him,” Taylor said. “I said what I said to him and he didn’t like it.”

Angry words were exchanged before Kessler punched Taylor, busting his lip.

“I tried to apologize to him, but he ran to the cops,” Kessler said after pleading guilty to the charge. “He used the state government to try and force penalty on me.”

Watch an earlier report on the story from CBS 19 below:

Featured image via YouTube

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.