NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Davidson County judge reduced the bond for a Canadian neo-Nazi facing aggravated assault charges for a downtown skirmish, but ordered him to surrender his passport and be fitted with an ankle bracelet before being released from jail.
Ryan Scott McCann, 29, a self-employed painter, was captured on video Sunday using a flagpole with a Nazi flag to assault a local bartender who had confronted McCann's neo-Nazi group.
General Sessions Judge Marcus Floyd reduced McCann's bond from $80,000 to $50,000 after McCann's lawyer argued that the original amount was not the normal amount set in Nashville for such charges.
"The only explanation we are left with that could explain an $80,000 bond for these allegations is that he is a member of a politically unpopular group, which should not be relevant to the question of bond," assistant public defender Cody Fisher told the judge.
"It should not be held against him from a criminal standpoint that he came to Nashville to engage in political speech. People do that often for all sorts of causes. Just because one is disfavored is not a reason to hold that against him."
Assistant District Attorney Joseph Clifton acknowledged that "$80,000 bond may not be what we see every day in Nashville."
But, he continued, "We don't see people coming into our country for the sole purposes of inciting riots and committing assaults against the citizens of Davidson County."
McCann briefly took the stand to testify that he would have no problem returning to Nashville for future hearings if released.
Asked about his association with the neo-Nazi group that has been engaged in protests around Nashville this week, McCann testified: "I wouldn't say I'm part of an organization, but the organization that I was with would have been called GDL."
Goyim Defense League, which is mockingly named after the Anti-Defamation League, is a "loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism," according to the ADL. "GDL engages in antisemitic stunts and schemes to troll or otherwise harass Jews."
In announcing his decision, Judge Floyd said his biggest issue was whether McCann could be counted upon to return to court if released.
"Here, I think the most concerning is your lack of ties to the community," Floyd said. "From Canada, you're here for a few days. You're not even actually here for a few days. You're in Kentucky, but then driving down here."
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for next week.
