Far-right hero ‘Based Stickman’ ordered to stay away from Bay Area protest this weekend
“Based Stickman,” the far-right figure who gained Internet notoriety for fighting anti-fascists in the streets of Berkeley earlier this year, may not participate in one of two Bay Area protests this weekend, a judge ruled Friday.
Kyle Chapman, 41, of Daly City was ordered to stay away from the Say No to Marxism rally at which he was scheduled to speak Sunday in Berkeley. The ruling came Friday morning, when Chapman appeared in an Oakland courtroom to answer felony weapons possession charges, according to Alameda County Assistant Dist. Atty. Teresa Drenick.
The charges stem from the same protests that made Chapman a popular figure among the far-right groups that have repeatedly clashed with anti-fascists in the Bay Area this year. Chapman was captured on video fighting with anti-fascists while carrying a shield and staff. Prosecutors charged him last week with possession of a “leaded cane/billy club.”
Bail for Chapman was set at $135,000 and he was ordered to stay at least 300 yards away from Civic Center Park in Berkeley, the site of one of two far-right rallies scheduled this weekend that many fear will lead to another round of street fights. Drenick said Chapman was also barred from possessing “any dangerous weapons including pepper spray, brass knuckles” and wooden sticks.
Chapman and his supporters say he was acting in self-defense, but the 41-year-old has a history of weapons-related offenses and other criminal charges.
If convicted, the current charges would mark Chapman’s third strike under California law, which enhances penalties for multiple convictions. He has a 2009 burglary conviction for which he served time in prison.
Attempts to contact Chapman’s attorney were not successful. Chapman has ignored requests for comment from the Los Angeles Times, and has ranted on social media that the charges against him were “trumped up” in an attempt to stop his activism. Calls seeking comment from his attorney, John Noonan, were not immediately returned.
The Berkeley event is one of two rallies expected to draw throngs of far-right activists and counter-protesters to the Bay Area this weekend.
On Saturday, the group Patriot Prayer will hold a rally in Crissy Field Park near the Golden Gate Bridge. The event has been denounced as a white supremacist rally by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, though the organizer of the event has repeatedly said white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other groups blamed for the violence in Charlottesville, Va,. earlier this month are not welcome.
Sunday’s rally in Berkeley, a city that has become synonymous with violent political clashes during the Trump administration, is expected to draw a more controversial crowd, including a known white supremacist from Florida, according to experts who track hate groups.
In a Facebook post published prior to the court hearing, Chapman swore he would attend both rallies.
“I will be attending the SF and Berekley rallies,” he wrote. “Never surrender.”
Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.
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