Chud the Builder Charged With Attempted Murder After Tennessee Courthouse Shooting

Controversial livestreamer Dalton Eatherly, known online as “Chud the Builder,” has been charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, Tennessee. Authorities said the incident happened Wednesday after a confrontation between Eatherly and an unidentified Black man escalated outside the courthouse. Both men were injured and hospitalized in stable condition, according to law enforcement. (AP News)

Eatherly, 28, is also facing charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and using a firearm during a felony. Reports say he was at the courthouse for a debt-related civil case when the confrontation occurred. Witnesses and local reports described Eatherly as a provocative online figure known for livestreaming racially derogatory encounters in public, a pattern that had already drawn criticism before the shooting. (AP News)

According to reports, Eatherly later claimed he acted in self-defense during a livestream, while authorities continued investigating the shooting and reviewing evidence from the scene. The other man involved was reportedly airlifted for medical treatment, while Eatherly suffered a wound that some reports described as possibly self-inflicted during the chaos. (The Guardian)

The courthouse shooting comes shortly after Eatherly was arrested in Nashville following an unrelated incident at a steakhouse, where he allegedly refused to pay a bill, disrupted the restaurant, and made racist remarks while livestreaming. That earlier arrest had already fueled public concern over his confrontational content. Now, the attempted murder charge has intensified debate over livestream culture, public harassment, and how online provocation can spill into real-world violence. (The Guardian)