CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With the victim now recovering from multiple gunshot wounds, a judge on Wednesday kept Dalton Levi Eatherly’s bond at $1 million after hearing sharply different accounts of whether the shooting outside the Montgomery County Courts Center was provoked or an act of self-defense.
Eatherly, 28, is charged with attempted murder, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.
This hearing follows Friday’s proceedings, where the prosecution moved to revoke bond and the defense sought approval to post it.
Prosecution, defense clash on what led to gunfire
Judge William Goodman III ruled on motions Wednesday from the state and defense regarding Eatherly’s bond.
District Attorney General Robert Nash argued that Eatherly provoked the confrontation, which would negate a self-defense claim. “He goes out to intentionally incite and provoke Black people for a response,” Nash said.
Nash said Eatherly had no reason to be at the courthouse that afternoon. According to previous reports, Eatherly had a civil case hearing in General Sessions Court that morning. Nash said he missed the hearing which was at 9 a.m., resulting in a default judgment, and that he arrived shortly before the 1:15 p.m. shooting.
He said Eatherly livestreamed the interaction between himself and Joshua Fox, similar to prior incidents in which he filmed confrontations. “Mr. Fox strikes him as his gun comes out,” Nash said. “Seven shots were fired within seconds. Five, I believe, struck Mr. Fox.”
Defense attorney Jake Fendley argued that Eatherly acted in self-defense and has strong community ties. He said the outstanding cases against Eatherly – one in Davidson County and a harassment charge in Montgomery County – were “pretty weak.”
The harassment case was bound over to the grand jury in April, according to court records.
Fendley told the court that Eatherly was scheduled to appear in Nashville on Wednesday morning but did not show, resulting in a capias bench warrant being issued for him. Eatherly was to be escorted to Metro by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. No reason was given Wednesday on why that did not happen. Fendley said he plans to file a motion to dismiss the Davidson County charges, which include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and theft of $1,000 or less, according to court records.
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“He said some language that we would probably find offensive,” Fendley said about the disorderly conduct charge. “But they’re protected speech.” He added that Eatherly has no prior convictions.
Fendley pointed to the row of people seated in the gallery. “That shows he has ties to the community,” he said.
Bond source testimony and judge’s ruling
Alex Rosen, with Predators and Poachers, testified and presented bank statements for verification of funds. Rosen said he streams content for income and hopes to bond Eatherly out, calling himself a “free speech absolutist.”
Goodman ruled the bond would remain at $1 million, with all previous conditions still in place and an added curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. He noted that courthouse doors state that firearms are prohibited inside the building, and the shooting occurred just outside.
Goodman denied a motion for LA Bonding to post bail in excess. He said Eatherly would need 10 bonding companies to post the full amount – one for every $100,000. When asked whether Rosen would qualify as an appropriate source, Goodman said he was unsure whether Rosen would be willing to clear his entire savings to help bond Eatherly out. He said that decision would be left to Rosen.
Fendley asked Goodman to reconsider. “There might be 20 bonding companies in this county, and it’s my understanding that maybe (only) one or two are willing to do business with Mr. Eatherly,” he said.
Goodman did not change his ruling. He also ordered Eatherly’s truck be returned once investigators are done processing his Event Data Recorder (EDR).
Victim’s mother: ‘One of the worst nightmares anyone can endure’
Carolyn Smith, Fox’s mother, told Clarksville Now her son is out of the hospital and is slowly recovering.
She said the bullets fractured some of his ribs, which “comes with some breathing problems.” She said he is improving physically, but is still struggling with the mental fallout of the shooting.
“This has been one of the worst nightmares anyone can endure,” Smith said. “Getting a call and saying my son was shot at the courthouse and then finding out it was by someone that had been antagonizing the community for years – and it took my son being shot for action to be taken. It’s a devastating blow to all of us.”
Smith said Fox is staying in a safe location and that she has been caring for two of his children while he searches for a new residence. “I think we’re blessed,” she said. “The nurses and doctors said they didn’t expect Joshua to survive.”
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Smith urged the community to de-escalate tensions. “Stop the death threats to the judges, both attorneys, to Josh, to my family,” she said. “It’s a judicial system that we all have to go through and we have to put trust in.”
“There’s no need to put threats on Chud (Eatherly) and his family’s lives. Support and keep harmony among all of us,” she said. “And this wasn’t about protecting freedom of speech. This is about letting you know that you don’t have the freedom to be violent.”
Courthouse shooting and prior bond rulings
Eatherly, known online as “Chud the Builder,” is charged in the shooting of Fox outside the Montgomery County Courts Center on on May 13. As previously reported by Clarksville Now, investigators said the confrontation began as a verbal dispute at Millennium Plaza. They said Eatherly “turned his body in a bladed stance” and reached for a firearm in his jacket pocket before a physical fight began. During the struggle, Eatherly fired multiple shots, hitting Fox several times and also shooting himself in the arm. Seven shell casings were recovered, all from the same gun.
Surveillance footage with no audio captured the encounter, and investigators previously testified the video shows Eatherly drawing a firearm – not Mace, as he later claimed.
At a May 15 arraignment, Judge H. Reid Poland III set Eatherly’s initial bond at $1.25 million, citing the number of bystanders in the plaza and the seriousness of the incident. At a May 21 hearing, investigators testified that they found a bulletproof vest and an airline ticket to Istanbul dated May 22 in Eatherly’s truck, along with firearms, ammunition, a suspected bag of marijuana and electronic devices at his home.
Poland later reset bond at $1 million, noting that state law requires it to be at least double the customary amount because Eatherly was already out on bond in two other cases, according to previous reports. Poland also ordered no weapons, a GPS monitor, no passport and a gag order.
The case has been bound over to the grand jury.
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