Man Accused of Threatening to Fire on Derby Crowd Arrested
A Louisville man who allegedly said he planned to open fire as crowds gathered for the Kentucky Derby then kill himself was jailed.
A federal judge ordered William Richard Keller, 32, jailed Thursday, finding he had violated a prohibition against possessing a weapon while out on bond. Keller pleaded guilty in March to a racially motivated cross-burning.
U.S. District Judge Edward H. Johnstone also found Keller posed a probable risk to the community.
Two people--one of them not named in court and the other identified only as Keller’s sister--said Keller told them he did not intend to go to prison for the cross-burning and was going to go to Churchill Downs today or Saturday and “take out a number of people and then take out himself,” FBI Agent Allen M. Bond III testified.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.