Three Houston-area men were charged with attempted homicide after one of them shot into a crowd of people protesting a white supremacist's speech in Florida on Thursday, police said.

Gainesville police said the men, all of whom have ties to extremist groups, confronted the protesters after a speech by Richard Spencer at the University of Florida. Spencer is the self-appointed leader of the "alt-right" — a term he coined for a movement that embraces white supremacist views and Nazi symbols.

The men yelled "Heil Hitler" and made Nazi salutes before one of them fired, police said. The shot missed the crowd.

The event was Spencer's first planned speech since he participated in the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August. One woman was killed and more than a dozen people injured after a vehicle ran into a group of counterprotesters there.

Although heavily protested, the Florida event was not violent until Colton Fears, 28, and William Fears, 30, both of Pasadena, and Tyler Tenbrink, 28, of Richmond confronted the protesters, police said.

'Shoot them'

Police said that around 5:30 p.m., the men drove up in a silver Jeep near protesters gathered at a bus stop close to where the event was held. An argument ensued after the men yelled chants and made Nazi salutes. During the argument, one protester hit the back of the Jeep with a baton.

1 / 4Self-described white nationalist Tyler Tenbrink, of Houston, Texas, is handcuffed by Florida Highway Patrol troopers as the troopers assist his safe departure from a speech by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term 'alt-right', at the University of Florida campus on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. Tenbrink was later arrested, along with friends William Fears and Colton Fears, in relation to a shooting following the speech. (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 2 / 4Self-described white nationalist Colton Fears, of Pasadena, Texas, speaks to members of the media as demonstrators gather near the site of a planned speech by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term 'alt-right', at the University of Florida campus on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. Fears was later arrested, along with his brother William Fears and friend Tyler Tenbrink, in relation to a shooting following the speech.(Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 3 / 4Self-described white nationalist William Fears, of Pasadena, Texas, center, walks behind Florida Highway Patrol troopers as the troopers assist his safe departure from a speech by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term 'alt-right', at the University of Florida campus on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. Fears was later arrested, along with his brother Colton Fears and friend Tyler Tenbrink, in relation to a shooting following the speech. (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 4 / 4Self-described white nationalist Colton Fears, of Pasadena, Texas, films with his cell phone as demonstrators gather near the site of a planned speech by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term 'alt-right', at the University of Florida campus on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. Fears was later arrested, along with his brother William Fears and friend Tyler Tenbrink, in relation to a shooting following the speech.(Brian Blanco / Getty Images)

Tenbrink, a convicted felon with a long criminal history, got out of the Jeep with a handgun while Colton and William Fears shouted, "I'm going to [expletive] kill you," according to police records.

As Tenbrink stood in front of the protesters with the gun, the Fears brothers shouted "kill them" and "shoot them." Tenbrink then fired at the group, but the bullet missed the protesters and hit a building behind them, according to police.

The men jumped into the Jeep and fled the scene, but not before someone in the group took down their vehicle's license number.

Police were able to quickly identify the suspects and shortly before 9 p.m., an officer located the Jeep and the three men were arrested. Tenbrink admitted to police that he was the shooter, they said.

'The only answer left is violence'

Hours before the shooting, Tenbrink and William Fears were interviewed by a reporter for The Gainesville Sun and said they drove from Houston to Gainesville to see Spencer speak.

"This is a mess. I'm disappointed in the course of things," Tenbrink said in the interview. "It appears that the only answer left is violence, and nobody wants that."

William Fears told The Sun that supporters of the "alt-right" movement were "pushing back" against supporters of the left.

"It's always been socially acceptable to punch a Nazi, to attack people if they have right-wing political leanings," Fears said. "Us coming in and saying we're taking over your town, we're starting to push back, we're starting to want to intimidate back. We want to show our teeth a little bit because, you know, we're not to be taken lightly. We don't want violence; we don't want harm. But at the end of the day, we're not opposed to defending ourselves."

William Fears, who served time in jail for criminal trespass, aggravated kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance, was also interviewed for an Aug. 19 Washington Post article about his participation in the "alt-right" movement.

He went to see Spencer speak at Texas A&M in December and then traveled to Virginia to participate in the Charlottesville rally after first being introduced to white nationalism in jail, he said.

"I don't think any race experiences racism in the modern world the way that white people do in a jail," he said in the interview. "In jail, whites come last."

He told the Post that he planned to attend Black Lives Matter events in the future to protest.

"I would like there not to be more violence. ... But it might be inevitable, so let's get this out of the way," he said. "If there is going to be a violent race war, maybe we should do it, maybe we should escalate it."

Gainesville police said they were glad Thursday's "potentially dangerous situation" was quickly averted by the arrests.

"I am amazed that immediately after being shot at, a victim had the forethought to get the vehicle's license number," said Ben Tobias, a spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department. "That key piece of information allowed officials from every level of multiple agencies to quickly identify and arrest these persons. This was an amazing team effort by everyone involved."

All three men were charged with attempted homicide and are being held in the Alachua County Jail. Tenbrink's bail was set at $3 million and bail for the Fears brothers was set at $1 million each.