Augustus Sol Invictus, the Florida man and former U.S. Senate candidate, was sentenced to 9 1/2 months in prison on Wednesday for his involvement in the torch-bearing mob that marched through the University of Virginia grounds in August 2017, just before the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Invictus, who was born Austin Gillespie, was convicted in October for violating Virginia’s cross-burning statute, a law originally enacted to combat the Ku Klux Klan. The statute makes it illegal to use fire as a means of intimidation based on race, a charge that Invictus faced for his actions that night.
Judge Richard Moore, who issued the sentence, referred to the events of August 11, 2017, as a “terrible and unacceptable” occurrence. In his ruling, Moore explained that the violence and intimidation carried out by the torch-bearing mob could have been avoided. Despite the defense’s argument that Invictus was merely exercising his constitutional rights, Moore made it clear that the prosecution was not about silencing free speech but about holding individuals accountable for their actions that incited fear and racial intimidation.
On the night in question, Invictus was among the more than 300 individuals who participated in a march across the UVA campus. The group was part of the larger white nationalist movement that gathered in Charlottesville, which later culminated in the deadly and chaotic rally the following day. The torch-lit procession was meant to serve as an intimidation tactic, and according to Moore, was a clear violation of the law aimed at stopping acts of racial hostility…