Albemarle judge denies bond to marcher, says behavior hasn't changed since 2017
ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- An Albemarle Circuit Court judge denied bond to 25-year-old Tyler Bradley Dykes of Blufton, South Carolina on Friday.
Dykes is one of three men so far who have been indicted for burning an object with the intent to intimidate, related to the racist torch march the night before the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
Dykes is being represented by local attorney Bryan Jones.
The judge said he denied him bond because the Commonwealth gave information about his ongoing alleged antisemitic behaviors.
First, there is a video of Dykes fighting during the torch march in August 2017.
But the judge said he was more concerned with the fact that Dykes's behavior doesn't seem to have changed since then.
In November 2020, Dykes was investigated in Sumter, South Carolina for painting swastikas with the message "We are everywhere" on storefronts.
He was also released from the U.S. Marine Corps around this time.
And on the day he was arrested in March, the prosecution found copies of messages in an extremist group chat on the secure platform Telegram.
He was caught after going to the hospital for a dog bite. While filing a report, police officers noticed he was wanted on charges elsewhere.
The judge said he can't trust Dykes to have good behavior and not be a danger to the safety of others.
Dykes' next hearing is set for June 5, the same day as another indicted man, Dallas Medina.
Will Zachary Smith of Texas also appeared for a bond hearing on Friday, but it appeared he hadn't met his attorney before, and after a private conversation, the hearing was pushed to May 3.
Smith was also charged in 2018 with maliciously releasing gas at the Unite the Right rally. He had been a fugitive until he was arrested earlier this year, and he will now face both charges.