William Scott Planer (Photo/Facebook)
William Scott Planer (Photo/Facebook)

Neo-Nazi sentenced in 2016 state Capitol altercation

A neo-Nazi who once called for dropping a nuclear bomb on Israel has been sentenced in California Superior Court to four years in prison for his role in a violent melee between fellow white supremacists and counter-demonstrators at the state Capitol three years ago.

William Scott Planer, 36, has been in a Sacramento County jail since 2017, when he was extradited from Colorado, where he was facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly vandalizing a Chabad center in Colorado Springs. According to news outlets, he put up stickers on the door that read “Fight Terror, Nuke Israel.”

Planer took part in the June 2016 clash that pitted two racist groups, Golden State Skinheads and Traditionalist Worker Party, against self-described anti-fascist groups. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 14 people among the hundreds attending were stabbed in that confrontation. Planer was filmed knocking a counterprotester unconscious with a pole.

Jurors deadlocked on charges against Planer, resulting in a February mistrial. In April, he pleaded no contest to assault charges and was sentenced this week.

Three counterprotesters also face various felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident, which drew a response from more than 100 law enforcement officers

Dan Pine

Dan Pine is a contributing editor at J. He was a longtime staff writer at J. and retired as news editor in 2020.