Head of neo-Nazi group arrested for pointing gun at Black motorists after his poorly attended rally fizzles out

Just 15 people showed up for National Socialist Movement’s rally in suburban Phoenix park

The head of a neo-Nazi group was arrested in Arizona after allegedly brandishing a gun at a group of Black men.

Burt Colucci 45, is the current commander of the Nationalist Socialist Movement, a leading neo-Nazi group in the US, according to The Southern Poverty Law Center.

He was arrested on Monday in a Phoenix suburb for pointing the loaded handgun at a Black man and threatening to kill him and his friends.

The incident happened outside a hotel after Mr Colucci reportedly put trash on the car of the Black men and used racial slurs towards them, according to police reports.

Mr Colucci told officers he was part of a “white civil rights group” and that he had pulled out his handgun and had it in a “low ready” position.

But the other men said he had aimed the weapon at them and threatened to kill them, and an independent witness reportedly backed that up.

Mr Colucci was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and his bond was set at $7,500 by a Maricopa County superior court judge.

He was allowed to return home to Florida but must come back to Maricopa County by 25 April for a hearing.

If convicted he faces up to three years in prison.

Two days before his arrest Mr Colucci held a rally with just 15 supporters in a Phoenix park with links to the civil rights movement in the city.

Reuters contributed to this report