Infamous 'Crying Nazi' faces criminal trial for rape threats as his legal woes persist

A white supremacist who gained notoriety for being a central figure in the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally, went on trial this Tuesday on federal charges that he threatened to rape the wife of a man he was feuding with, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Christopher Cantwell has been in federal custody since he pleaded not guilty to the charge back in January. He also threatened to share the unidentified person's personal information online.

Cantwell pleaded guilty to assault in 2018 after being accused of using pepper spray against two counter protesters during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. He earned the online moniker "crying Nazi" after he posted a video of himself crying with fear after allegedly being told that a warrant was issued for his arrest.

“I called the Charlottesville Police Department and said, ‘I have been told there’s a warrant out for my arrest,'”Cantwell tearfully says in the video. “They said they wouldn’t confirm it but that I could find this out I could go to a magistrate or whatever.”

“I don’t know what to do. I need guidance,” he said while wiping away tears.

Cantwell was featured in a VICE documentary about the Charlottesville rally.