In Charlottesville, Virginia, police have arrested 23-year-old Corey Long, a black counterprotester who was photographed keeping white supremacist protesters at bay with an improvised flamethrower during a violent rally by far-right extremists last August. A photo of the incident shows Long firing three-foot flames from an aerosol can toward white supremacists wielding Confederate flagpoles. Long later said he was defending an elderly white man from attack. The incident occurred as white supremacist protester Richard Wilson Preston aimed a pistol at Long’s head and then fired a single shot into the ground, narrowly missing Long. Preston was later arrested, but only after ACLU investigators provided video to the FBI. Meanwhile, Corey Long faces charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct. His arrest came just days after prosecutors issued a warrant for 20-year-old Deandre Harris, a black man who was brutally beaten by white supremacists in a parking garage during the protests.
Charlottesville Police Arrest Corey Long, Who Defended Anti-Fascist Protesters
HeadlineOct 17, 2017