Former Nashville federal judge donated to hate group tied to Charlottesville protests

A former federal judge and prominent Nashville attorney contributed nearly $3,000 to a nonprofit group tied to the violent white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Va. 

Robert L. Echols, a lawyer at Bass Berry & Sims, donated $2,950 to the Mary Noel Kershaw Foundation, which funds firearms self-defense training for the League of the South. Southern Poverty Law Center considers both organizations "neo-confederate" hate groups.

One of the foundation’s main activities is to provide grants to the League. In 2015 the Kershaw Foundation paid for three self-defense classes, public tax records show — one with firearms, with an average of 15 people attending each class.

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Before last week’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, League president Michael Hill, a board member of the Kershaw Foundation, told attendees to prepare for violence in defense. League members clashed with counter-protesters. That same day a man rammed his car into a group of anti-white supremacist protesters, leaving one woman dead and a nation reeling.

The founding board member of the League of the South created the Kershaw foundation and named it after his wife, to "honor her and help The League of the South," according to the League website.

But Echols, in a statement issued by a spokeswoman, said he is "horrified by the actions of hate groups in Charlottesville, including the League of the South." He says he learned about the nonprofit's hate group associations when he was contacted by members of the media.

"When I made the contributions, at the request of my Bible study leader, I believed that I was making donations to a Christian school and that my financial support would help families," Echols said in the statement.  

According to a public tax filing, the foundation also gave grants to the Heritage Covenant Schools, a home-schooling organization. The money went towards a course called "A History of the Southern People." The forms do not indicate which donors contributed to which causes.

The president of the foundation, David Jones, said that Echols directed that his funds be used for the home schooling group.

"He donated to a Christian School," Jones said in a phone interview. "The check was written from the foundation to the school immediately."

"He does not deserve to have his reputation sullied like that," Jones said of Echols. "He is beyond reproach and to label him in this manner is just really sick.”

Nominated by George H.W. Bush, Echols served as a United States district judge for the Middle District of Tennessee from 1992 until his retirement from the bench in 2010. Today, he specializes in “dispute resolution alternatives” as part of the Bass Berry & Sims litigation and dispute resolution group.

The law firm issued a statement, through a spokeswoman, condemning "views espoused by hate groups such as this one."

"We expect everyone affiliated with our firm to conduct themselves according to our values, which are rooted in integrity, fairness, inclusion and respect," the statement said. "That is why, as soon as we learned about this news story, we launched our own internal investigation. We are taking all necessary steps to address this issue."

The filings for the Kershaw Foundation list Echols donating $1,600 and $1,350 between October 2014 and September 2016. The nonprofit forms list his law office's address.

"I have a long history of supporting education, my community and my profession," Echols said in the statement, "and will continue to give to organizations that make the world a better place."

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