Man charged with driving toward protesters arrested

A Chesapeake man accused of driving his truck toward a group of protesters at the Oceanfront in May was arrested Wednesday night in Florida.

The arrest came a little over a week after a Virginia Beach General District Court judge issued a warrant for Emanuel “Manny” Wilder when he failed to showforhistrial for asecond time.

Lake City police officers stopped Wilder, 20, on

Wednesday night because he matched the description of a person they were looking for in connection with a battery investigation, Greg Burnsed, a spokesperson for the police department said in an email.

Wilder was not the person Lake City police were looking for, but when an officer ran his name they found his Virginia Beach warrant, Burnsed said.

A Virginia Beach General District Court judge issued a no-bond warrant for Wilder for contempt of court, which is a misdemeanor, in September when he missed his trial. The no-bond warrant means he’ll be held in jail, at least until he has a bond hearing.

Wilder was booked at 11:32 p.m. in the Columbia County Detention Center, according to online records. He will be extradited back to Virginia.

Wilder was supposed to appear in court Sept. 22 on four misdemeanor counts from the night of the May 31 protest: reckless driving, abusive language, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

Black Lives Matter 757 organized the protest and repeatedly has called for Wilder’s arrest. Witnesses said a man argued with protesters before getting in a red truck. They said he revved the engine several times before driving toward a group on Atlantic Avenue.

Wilder also faces another misdemeanor — a failure to appear charge — after he showed up about an hour late for his trial originally scheduled for July.