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Baltimore KKK Leader Awaits Hearing On Charlottesville Gun Charge

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Baltimore Ku Klux Klan leader who authorities say fired a gun during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville is in custody in Virginia awaiting a court appearance this week.

Richard Wilson Preston is charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school on Aug. 12, the day of the rally that descended into violent chaos.

The American Civil Liberties Union said it provided law enforcement officials with a video of the shooting before Preston's arrest. It shows a man yelling and firing a handgun one time while standing on a crowded sidewalk. No one was struck.

The 52-year-old Preston told our media partner, The Baltimore Sun, he is being misrepresented as a violent racist. Preston says went to Charlottesville as a member of a militia intending to protect rally participants.

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(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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