CHANDLER, AZ — The leader of the National Socialist Movement, the largest Neo-Nazi group in the United States, was arrested in Chandler Monday.
Burt Colucci is accused of threatening to kill African Americans and pointing his gun at them.
Colucci was in the Valley for the NSM rally over the weekend, which was a brief, uneventful march.
The Neo-Nazi group tried to provoke a confrontation with Black men by calling them racial slurs, but when it was clear they were not going to get their desired reaction, the group got in their cars and left.
Two days after he paraded around a Phoenix park for roughly 30 minutes with 15 others, Colucci was booked into jail, charged with aggravated assault.
In court documents, Chandler police say officers were called out twice to a Hilton hotel parking lot.
The first time, the caller reported that a group of white males and Black males were arguing.
By the time officers got to the hotel, the Black men had already driven off, leaving Colucci to provide the sole narrative.
The NSM leader admitted there was a verbal argument and that he drew his pistol and kept it in "low-ready."
He also claimed that the Black men threw "items" at him, "at which point Colucci deployed pepper spray into the vehicle."
Chandler police wrote, "due to having only one side of the story no arrests were made."
Hours later another side emerged.
Officers were called back to the scene for a "similar incident."
A victim then gave a statement referencing the first incident, saying "Colucci began throwing trash on their car, using racial slurs, and threatened to kill him and the group he was with."
The victim also said Colucci pointed the gun at him. According to the report, "an independent third party witness stated...she saw Colucci point the handgun at the victim."
Court documents reveal Colucci was planning to fly back to Florida just hours after he was arrested.
At his initial appearance, a judge set his bond at $7,500 and said he is allowed to return to Florida but must be back in Arizona in five days for his next court appearance, or a warrant could be issued for his arrest and he would have to cover the costs of extradition.
