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Henrico prosecutor lodges hate crimes against KKK member; sets up complaint email for police abuse

George Copeland Jr. | 7/2/2020, 6 p.m.
Hate crime charges have been filed in Henrico County against a self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan leader who allegedly drove his …
Mr. Rogers

Hate crime charges have been filed in Henrico County against a self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan leader who allegedly drove his truck through a crowd of demonstrators at a Black Lives Matter march early last month.

Harry H. Rogers, 36, of Hanover County, who has been held without bond following the incident on June 7, was charged previ- ously with misdemeanor assault and battery, and attempted malicious wounding and destruction of property, both felonies.

On June 25, Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon L. Taylor lodged seven additional charges against Mr. Rogers, including four counts of assault hate crime, all misdemeanors, and single felony counts of malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

According to police, Mr. Rogers, who authorities said is the Grand Dragon of the KKK, disrupted a march of around 300 people by driving over a median on Lakeside Avenue and striking two cyclists. No serious injuries were reported.

“I am charging Mr. Rogers with the strongest form of assault and hate crimes permitted under Virginia law,” Ms. Taylor said in a statement. “I have no doubt Mr. Rogers was motivated by bigotry and rac- ism and should be severely punished for his egregious criminal behavior.

“After further in-depth investigation, where we spoke with over two dozen witnesses and several victims, I determined that additional charg- es were warranted,” Ms. Taylor said.

Police said he was carrying a loaded firearm at the time of his arrest and they found an assault-style rifle and magazines in his truck. He also told police at the scene that he is a top official with the Virginia KKK, according to reports.

In a June 25 bond appeal, Henrico County Circuit Court Judge John Marshall denied Mr. Rogers’ request for a bond to be set, saying Mr. Rogers is an “unreasonable danger to the public” and should continue to be held without bond.

Police reports and investigations also show that Mr. Rogers has been involved in multiple public clashes during the last three years, including an incident on May 29 where Mr. Rogers went to a doctor’s office and was asked to put on a mask for entry. He left and returned wearing a KKK hood. When a receptionist asked him to leave, he shouted, “White power,” and left, according to a police who were called at the time.

Henrico and Hanover County have seen a resurgence of KKK activities in recent months. Last year, fliers for two KKK chapters were found left in driveways of residences in both counties. One of those chapters, the North Carolina-based White Knights of the Confederacy, also held a recruitment rally outside the Hanover County Courthouse during the Fourth of July weekend last year. These incidents garnered pushback and criticism by local officials, community members and orga- nizations including the Hanover County Branch NAACP.

In a related matter, Ms. Taylor announced Monday that she plans to hire a new prosecutor to review allegations of police misconduct in Henrico. She also has created a new email account for people to lodge complaints against police directly to her office.

Complaints emailed to citizenca@henrico.us will be considered public information and will be investigated, Ms. Taylor said.

The new post is for a deputy common- wealth’s attorney for police integrity and compliance who will look into allegations of misconduct and determine whether charges should be filed against the police officer, or whether the matter should be handled by the police department’s internal affairs office.

Last year, 89 of 122 complaints filed with the Henrico police were determined not to be justified, according to police data.

The changes come as Ms. Taylor, who is considering a run next year for Virginia’s attorney general, seeks to improve police accountability in the face of continuing protests in Richmond and across the globe against police abuse and violence and racial injustice.