Self-described KKK leader drove pickup truck into protest crowd in Virginia: Prosecutors

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- The Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney said a hate crime investigation was underway against the self-proclaimed president of the Virginia KKK.

Harry Rogers, 36, of Hanover, was formally charged with attempted malicious wounding, destruction of property, and assault and battery after police said he drove his pickup truck into a group of protesters Sunday in Lakeside. A Henrico judge denied Rogers' bond during Monday's hearing.

“Several witnesses reported that a vehicle revved their engine and drove through the protesters occupying the roadway,” a Henrico Police spokesperson said of the incident on Lakeside Avenue near Vale Street. No one was seriously injured physically.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the alleged incident happened during a Black Lives Matter protest walk on Lakeside Avenue.

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In court Monday, the Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney said Rogers told arresting officers he was the president of the Ku Klux Klan in Virginia and the highest-ranking member not imprisoned.

Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said Monday: “The accused, by his own admission and by a cursory glance at social media, is an admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology."

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• Henrico prosecutor: Hanover man who drove into protest is admitted KKK leader - Richmond Times-Dispatch