A self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan member is facing hate crime charges after allegedly driving his vehicle into a crowd of protesters in Virginia on Sunday.

Henry H. Rogers, 36, allegedly drove recklessly on the median of Lakeside Avenue in Richmond near the protest, before driving his van towards the protesters, revving the engine and ramming into the group, according to authorities.

The Virginia prosecutor said Monday she is investigating the adequacy of hate crime charges against Rogers, who allegedly described himself as the highest-ranking KKK member in the state not to be incarcerated.

No serious injuries were reported in the incident which occurred around 6 p.m. Sunday.

Harry H. Rogers described himself as president of the KKK Virginia chapter. He was driving recklessly near the protest in Virginia on Sunday, ‘drove up to the protesters, revved the engine and drove into the group (right)

His girlfriend said he went to the BLM protest in Richmond to make sure no one damaged the statue of Confederate General AP Hill (pictured)

Rogers was arrested and charged with assault and battery, attempted malicious injury and vandalism.

“The defendant, by his own admission and a cursory glance at social media, is an acknowledged leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology. We are investigating whether the hate crime charges are appropriate,’ Henrico County Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a statement.

One person was examined for injuries, but no one was seriously injured.

“While I am grateful that the victim’s injuries do not appear to be serious, an attack on peaceful protesters is heinous and despicable and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” said Henrico County Attorney Shannon. Taylor, in a statement. .

“We experienced this in Virginia in Charlottesville in 2017. I promise the Henricoans that this blatant criminal act will not go unpunished. Hatred has no place here under my watch.

Rogers, of Hanover County, made a first court appearance on Monday morning where he agreed to accept court-appointed counsel and was denied bond, Richmond broadcaster WTVR reported. He is due back in court in August.

People gather at the Robert E. Lee monument, now covered in protest graffiti, in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday. Rogers’ girlfriend says he took his son to the Black Lives Matter protest to watch over the AP Hill monument under which the Confederate general is buried

The attorney listed for him in court records, George Townsend, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

A woman who said she was Rogers’ girlfriend and shares a home with him, said in an interview from their home that he went to make sure no one defaced the AP Hill statue in the area .

Its mission to protect the Confederate statue under which the general is buried came after Virginia announced that it would finally get rid of the General Robert E. Lee monument.

“He didn’t go there with violent tendencies,” said the girlfriend, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions. Richmond Shipping Schedules. The woman said she had received death threats.

She claimed Rogers, also known as “Skip”, took her 14-year-old son with him to watch and alleged a protester hit her son.

Paint and protest graffiti cover the Jefferson Davis Memorial in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday after a week of unrest in the United States over police brutality and racism in policing. Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War

“Someone reached the window of the truck and blew my son in the side of the face,” she said.

She said she knew because she was on the phone with Rogers, then she asked him, “What am I doing?”

The woman insists that after the alleged slap through the vehicle window: ‘He tried to cross a median strip to get my son out of harm’s way.’

Rogers was seen at the 2017 Unite the Right rally where Heather Heyer was killed when a man rammed his vehicle into protesters. President Trump responded to the incident by saying there were “very fine people on both sides.”

Rogers attempted to disrupt Heyer’s memorial two days later when he showed up in KKK robes and Confederate patches.

Anyone with information can call Henrico Police at 804-501-5000, call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780.1000, or submit tips on the “P3 Tip” app on a smartphone or tablet.