Update 08/18/17: This article has been updated to reflect additional information from the East Bay Express about Chapman’s mandatory prison sentence.
The Alameda County District Attorney filed a felony charge against Kyle Chapman on Wednesday for possession of a leaded stick, related to several fights at a chaotic pro-Trump rally earlier this year.
As first reported by the East Bay Express, the charges are connected to melees between Trump supporters, counter-protesters and anti-fascists, during a March 4 pro-Trump rally. Chapman — an outspoken member of the alt-right and a self-proclaimed “American nationalist” — was seen carrying a long baton into several incidents at the rally and was filmed hitting the heads of Antifa members and protesters.
Chapman faces up to a year in jail if convicted, according to the Express, and possession of any weapons in the future would be a felony. During the March rally, Berkeley police arrested Chapman for suspicion of felony assault. Chapman was also arrested while promoting another Berkeley pro-Trump rally April 10 after another alleged fight.
After the attacks, Chapman got the nickname “Based Stickman” from followers in both pro-Trump and white supremacist groups.
Chapman could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Chapman is listed as planning to attend another alt-right rally in Berkeley on Aug. 27. In a post on his Facebook page, he urged his “all patriots and warriors” to attend the rally. Berkeley mayor Jesse Arreguín has been actively working to stop the event, saying its “hateful rhetoric, is not welcome in our city.”
“We can not submit and give the left another win,” Chapman said in the Facebook post. “Berkeley is the most important Battle ground in the country. We must make a stand.”
According to Alameda County State Superior Court documents obtained by the East Bay Express, because of prior arrests and convictions in 2001 for felony grand theft and a felony robbery in 1993, Chapman must serve a mandatory state prison sentence of unspecified length. Chapman was arrested for the 2001 felony in San Diego County and in Travis County, Texas, for the 1993 robbery.
