A Virginia man who drove into a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators in June and was described as a local Ku Klux Klan leader by a prosecutor was sentenced Monday to six years in jail. However, he still faces additional charges.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Harry H. Rogers, 36, was convicted of six misdemeanors: four simple assaults, property damage and hit-and-run. Rogers was sentenced to a year in jail for each charge.
Rogers still faces three felony charges of attempted malicious wounding in connection with the June 7 incident in the Richmond suburb of Lakeside where he “revved [his] engine and drove through the protesters occupying the roadway.”
Those charges will be heard by a grand jury in September.
The Henrico County General District Court judge who is presiding over the case did not uphold hate crime enhancements to the charges, agreeing with the defense’s argument that the three victims, who are white, were not targeted because of their race.
Several other instances of drivers targeting protesters have been reported in the months since massive protests over racial justice started following the death of George Floyd.
