CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The social media influencer charged in the May 13 shooting outside the Montgomery County Courts Center has bonded out of jail.
Dalton Levi Eatherly, 28 – known online as “Chud the Builder” – is charged with attempted murder, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Eatherly had been in custody for nearly three months, however the Montgomery County Jail confirmed to Clarksville Now that Eatherly was released a couple of days ago.
Montgomery County Courthouse shooting
On May 13 at about 1:15 p.m., Eatherly got in a confrontation in Millennium Plaza, according to previous reports.
The arrest warrant obtained by Clarksville Now alleges Eatherly and another man, identified as Joshua Fox, got into a verbal confrontation. Eatherly then “turned his body in a bladed stance” and reached for a firearm in his jacket pocket. “Thereafter, a physical altercation ensued,” said the warrant.
Investigators said Eatherly then fired multiple shots, striking Fox several times. Fox was flown by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and underwent emergency surgery.
Fox is now out of the hospital and slowly recovering, according to his mother, Carolyn Smith. She told Clarksville Now in June that the bullets fractured some of his ribs and left him with ongoing breathing issues and mental trauma, according to previous reports. Smith urged the community to de-escalate tensions and stop issuing threats toward judges, attorneys, her family and Eatherly’s family.
Eatherly also shot himself in the arm during the struggle, and he was taken to Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital for treatment, according to previous reports.
At the time of the shooting, Eatherly was already out on bond in two other cases – a harassment case in Montgomery County bound over to the grand jury in April and a case in Davidson County.
Bond hearings and investigators’ findings
At Eatherly’s initial court appearance on May 15 in General Sessions Court, Judge H. Reid Poland III set his bond at $1.25 million and advised him of the potential sentencing ranges, including 15 to 60 years on the attempted murder charge, according to previous reports.
During a May 21 hearing, investigators testified that surveillance cameras captured the confrontation and showed Eatherly attempting to pull a gun from his jacket pocket – not Mace, as he later claimed. They said Fox took Eatherly to the ground during the struggle and that a bullet could be seen ricocheting as the two fell. Seven shell casings were recovered at the scene, all from the same firearm, according to previous reports.
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Searches of Eatherly’s truck and home revealed a bulletproof vest, a rifle, a shotgun, ammunition, a suspected bag of marijuana and an airline ticket to Istanbul dated May 22. Investigators also recovered his electronic devices, which contained inflammatory racial videos and social media posts referencing lethal force in the weeks leading up to the shooting. No Mace was found at the scene or in his belongings.
Poland reset Eatherly’s bond at $1 million, citing state law requiring a higher amount because he was already out on bond in two other cases. Poland also ordered that if released, Eatherly must wear a GPS monitor, relinquish all weapons, abide by a gag order and have any passport application halted or rescinded. He further ruled that no crowdfunding raised after May 13 could be used toward bond, pending a sourcing review in Circuit Court.
The case was bound over to the grand jury.
Source hearing and most recent bond ruling
At a June 3 hearing in Circuit Court, Judge William Goodman III kept Eatherly’s bond at $1 million after hearing conflicting accounts from prosecutors and the defense about what led to the gunfire, according to previous reports.
District Attorney General Robert Nash argued that Eatherly provoked the confrontation, saying he had no reason to be at the courthouse that afternoon and had missed a civil hearing earlier that morning. Nash said Eatherly livestreamed the interaction, similar to prior incidents in which he filmed confrontations, and that Fox struck him as the gun came out.
Defense attorney Jake Fendley argued that Eatherly acted in self-defense and pointed to his community ties. Fendley also noted that Eatherly failed to appear for a Nashville court hearing earlier that day, resulting in a capias bench warrant, and said he planned to file a motion to dismiss the Davidson County charges.
Goodman added a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew to Eatherly’s release conditions and kept in place earlier orders requiring no weapons, a GPS monitor, a gag order and restrictions on using post–May 13 crowdfunding toward bond. He also denied a motion for LA Bonding to post bail in excess and said Eatherly would need 10 bonding companies to post the full amount – one for every $100,000.
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