A teenage Russian immigrant arrested in U.S. on Monday said he was the leader of the local skinhead group and that the arrest had been made to prevent him from making a public speech, Thestarpress web-site reports.

Dmitriy Sklyarov, 18, Gaston, the self-proclaimed leader of the Delaware County Skinheads, filed paperwork with the city indicating he plans to speak outside the government building March 20, his birthday.

Sklyarov said he was in the mayor’s office Monday afternoon filling out papers concerning liability in the event of property damage when officers handcuffed him and walked him across the street to the Delaware County jail.

“It was an effort of some white police officers that are traitors of the white race to deter me from making a speech,” Sklyarov said.

Police reports said Sklyarov was arrested on warrants for failure to appear in Muncie City Court on operating a vehicle without receiving a license, driving without proof of insurance and driving on a beginner’s license.

Sklyarov said he knew he never paid a traffic ticket but didn’t know he would be arrested for it.

Sgt. Brad Arey, who assisted in the arrest, said he did not know who discovered Sklyarov was wanted for the traffic violations. Court record show the warrant for his arrest was issued last June.

Probable cause is not required for police to initiate a background check on someone, Arey said.

Arey described Sklyarov as calm and cooperative. The teen was released on his own recognizance a few hours after his arrest.

Jail officers initially put Sklyarov, who has a swastika tattoo on his shoulder, in the same cell as a black man but eventually moved him out of fear that a confrontation would ensue.

“I told him that Jews were responsible for slavery,” Sklyarov said. “Basically me and that black guy, we got along fine.”

Sklyarov, a Russian immigrant, said he expects about three people at his speech at city hall and would not disclose membership numbers for the Delaware County Skinheads.

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