CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A controversial livestreamer known online as "Chud the Builder" was taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly shooting a man — and wounding himself in the arm — during a confrontation outside the Montgomery County Courthouse, authorities said.

The shooting occurred shortly after 1:15 p.m. on May 13, prompting a lockdown of the courthouse and a joint response from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and the Clarksville Police Department. The MCSO confirmed on social media around 1:30 p.m. that the scene had been secured and that there was no ongoing danger to the public.

Streamer identified as the shooter

19th Judicial District Attorney General Robert Nash identified the alleged shooter as Dalton Eatherly, 28, the Clarksville native better known to his online audience as "ChudTheBuilder." Nash confirmed at least two people were struck by gunfire, including Eatherly himself, though he said he was not immediately able to comment on their conditions.

According to reporting from Clarksville Now and Dexerto, the second victim was struck in the stomach and was reportedly being prepared for transport by LifeFlight. Eatherly was loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher with what first responders initially described as a graze wound to his left arm, though a responder on scene later said it appeared to be "an actual penetrating injury" that went "in and out." At one point during his ongoing livestream, Eatherly can be heard asking, "Did I shoot myself, or did it graze it?"

Streamer claims self-defense on stream

A roughly 16-minute transcript pulled from Eatherly's livestream after the shooting captures him speaking with officers and EMTs while being treated. In it, Eatherly claims he approached a group that was "laughing" and "pointing" at him, and that one man told him to "walk away."

Eatherly alleged the man then returned, told him, "You start saying all that chmp out sht to me, I'm a hit you," and struck him in the face. Eatherly said he fired in self-defense and that the man continued hitting him afterward.

"He hit me, started wailing on me, even after I had to defend myself by shooting him," Eatherly said in the transcript. "He's still wailing on me… Man, I just pray that dude's gonna be all right. I tried to walk away from him."

Police have not confirmed Eatherly's account.

A pattern of incidents

Background on Eatherly's recent legal troubles (click to expand)

Eatherly has built an online following by livestreaming confrontations in the Nashville area, frequently using racial slurs and anti-Semitic language toward strangers — content he has publicly framed as "free speech." He has been previously documented threatening people with bear spray when confrontations escalated.

Wednesday's shooting comes just four days after Eatherly was arrested in Nashville on May 9 at Bob's Steak & Chop House, an upscale restaurant inside the Omni Hotel. According to the arrest warrant, staff asked him to stop livestreaming; he became disruptive, allegedly yelling racial slurs, and then refused to pay his roughly $371 bill. He was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, and was released on bond.

Eatherly was also already out on bond for 2025 harassment charges in Montgomery County, which had recently been bound over to a grand jury. He had been scheduled to appear in Nashville court on the steakhouse charges on July 17, 2026.

What's next

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said the shooting will be investigated by its office. No formal charges related to Wednesday's incident had been announced as of publication, and the condition of the other victim has not been officially released.

This is a developing story.