‘Chad the Builder’ known for racially derogatory livestreams taken into custody after a shooting in Tennessee

Editor’s Note:

Dalton Eatherly, known online as “Chud the Builder,” has built a following by livestreaming public confrontations in which he repeatedly targets Black people with racial slurs, monkey references, and inflammatory language.

This week, his habit of courting conflict followed him to a Montgomery County courthouse, where a confrontation ended in a shooting. Eatherly claimed self-defense.

Karma is undefeated. Those who make a career out of manufacturing hostility and division eventually run into real consequences.

What I witnessed last week at the Tennessee State Capitol was the worst public behavior I have encountered in my 26 years of public service. Paid protesters screamed racial slurs of the “N———“ and “B———“ words and vile threats at state representatives (I heard a few were assaulted) in what can only be described as a coordinated effort to intimidate elected officials. It was disgraceful — and it deserves to be called exactly what it is.
What troubled me even more was watching a fellow state representative, Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, engage in behavior unbecoming of his office. I personally witnessed a confrontation between Pearson and a Tennessee State Trooper that left many of us in disbelief. Pearson yelled at him calling him a “M————“ and “Boy.” The kind of language and conduct directed at a law enforcement officer who was simply doing his job was something I never expected to see inside the walls of our Capitol.
I say this not as a partisan attack, but as an eyewitness. I was there.
Public office is a sacred trust. The people of Tennessee — regardless of party — deserve representatives who model dignity, restraint, and respect, especially when the cameras are rolling and the next generation is watching. When elected officials normalize contempt for law enforcement and civil discourse, the damage runs deeper than any single news cycle.
Actions have consequences. In public life, character is ultimately what the voters remember. Watch the video yourself — and I’ll leave the rest to the people of Tennessee to judge.

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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Dalton Eatherly, who livestreams under the name “Chud the Builder” and frequently directs racially derogatory statements at Black people in public, was involved in a shooting during a confrontation outside a Montgomery County courthouse on Wednesday.

According to District Attorney Robert J. Nash, Eatherly and an unidentified man got into a confrontation that led to gunfire. Authorities have not released details on what prompted the incident or why Eatherly was at the courthouse, nor have they disclosed the other man’s identity or ethnicity.

Both men were hospitalized and listed in stable condition. One was treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Clarksville; the other was flown by Lifeflight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

In a video posted Wednesday on Pump.fun, Eatherly said he shot the man in self-defense after being struck. His attorney in a separate case, Jacob Fendley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Court Appearance and Background

Eatherly was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning on a civil case alleging he owes approximately $3,300 to Midland Credit Management. The case was filed in February.

Eatherly, who is white, has gained attention for livestreaming public confrontations in which he makes racial slurs, often comparing Black people to monkeys or apes. In one market video, he told a Black man, “You chimpin’ out,” repeatedly used the N-word, and continued after a clerk told him he could not say that word. Eatherly responded by citing free speech.

He faces a separate criminal case stemming from an incident at a Nashville steakhouse on Saturday. According to an affidavit, restaurant staff asked him to stop livestreaming inside. He allegedly refused, began yelling, made racial statements, and refused to pay a nearly $400 bill. He was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. He posted $5,000 bond and has a court date of July 17 in Davidson County.

Montgomery County authorities and hospitals cited privacy laws in limiting additional information about the shooting victims.