Chud the Builder: The Racist Streamer's Attempted Murder Charges Explained
A racist streamer who built a following screaming slurs at Black people now faces up to 60 years in prison for shooting a Black disabled veteran outside a Tennessee courthouse. But what may matter most for prosecutors is the evidentiary paper trail left behind by the defendant himself: posts, videos, and public statements that could help establish premeditation.Donald Etherly, known online as Chud the Builder, turned harassment and intimidation into a brand. Two orders of protection. A harassment charge. A contempt case. A walked $370 dinner bill at a Nashville steakhouse. Then, on May 13, 2026, he showed up to a debt hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville with a gun in his jacket, got into a confrontation with Joshua Fox, and opened fire, striking Fox multiple times and, somehow, shooting himself in the arm. Fox survived after emergency surgery.This episode breaks down every charge Chud is facing: aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, possessing a firearm during a dangerous felony, and attempted first-degree murder. We walk through the actual Tennessee statutes, why the gun charge rises or falls with the attempted murder count, and what premeditation really requires under the law.Then there's the self-defense claim. Tennessee is a stand-your-ground state, so why is Chud's "I had to defend myself" argument in serious trouble? The answer is the provocation exception, and the fact that Chud spent months posting videos and threats describing almost exactly what he later did, including a stream where he narrated the shooting before it happened. We cover the surveillance footage, the "reaching for mace" defense, the headlock dispute, the $1 million bond, the gag order from Judge H. Reed Poland III, the $300,000 his supporters raised that he can't touch, and the bond revocation in the steakhouse case.This is a case study in how a defendant's own social media becomes the prosecution's best evidence, and how stand-your-ground protection evaporates when you're the one who started it.CHAPTERS(00:00) The charges and 60 years(00:55) Chud's racist origin story(02:29) Steakhouse walkout arrest(03:00) Rise as an internet racist(03:37) The courthouse shooting(05:04) Aggravated assault(05:55) Reckless endangerment(06:21) Firearm during a felony(07:08) Attempted murder & premeditation(08:13) His own posts as evidence(10:05) The self-defense claim(11:52) Why provocation kills it(12:31) Gag order & $1M bond(14:13) Bond revoked, defense fund(14:51) When you need a lawyerDo you need a great lawyer? I can help! https://legaleagle.link/eagleteamLEGAL-ISH DISCLAIMERSorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
