KKK leader Rogers to serve 3 years, 8 months in jail for Lakeside incident

Avowed Ku Klux Klan leader Harry "Skip" Rogers, who drove his truck through a group of Black Lives Matter protesters June 7 in Lakeside, was sentenced Feb. 9 to five years in prison, with 16 months suspended.

That means Rogers will serve 3 years, 8 months in prison, after he pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and battery, one count of destruction of property and one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

The sentence is a lighter one than Rogers initially received in August (six years), which he appealed.

No one was seriously injured during the incident.

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said that she was pleased with the sentence but believed Rogers deserved a longer sentence.

“While I believe his hateful and bigoted motivations should have him behind bars even longer, the Virginia Code is not helpful,” she said in a statement. “I want to thank Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) for her efforts to strengthen the law in this area. I attended the specific committee hearing to advocate for her hate crimes legislation to ensure that those motivated by bigotry are punished severely. Unfortunately, that legislation did not pass, but I will continue to advocate for a safer, and more just Virginia.

“My commitment is to keep Henricoans safe and this bigoted heinous Klansman is off the streets.”