The massive presence of Danville’s rehabilitated White Mill is hard to miss. The man who kickstarted its redevelopment with a two-sentence tweet is also hard to miss.
Council member Lee Vogler has a big presence in the small city. One of the most consistent champions of Danville’s economic resurgence, Vogler serves on various local boards and committees and is an engaged member of the community.
When he was attacked and set on fire at his workplace Wednesday, the city expressed shock and outrage that something like this could have happened to such a well-known and well-liked local figure.
Residents, local leaders and state politicians have responded to the attack with an outpouring of love and support on social media.
Vogler, 38, is known for his role in Danville’s economic resurgence and for reaching across the political aisle.
Despite his position on the city council, the attack was not politically motivated. According to police reports, Vogler and the suspect, Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29, knew one another, and the attack stemmed from a personal matter.
Police said a man entered the office of Showcase Magazine, where Vogler works as marketing director, doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire.
Buck Hayes has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding, according to the Danville Police Department. He was being held in the Danville City Jail on Wednesday with no bond.
Vogler was airlifted to a regional medical facility for treatment, police said. His condition remained unknown Wednesday evening.
Vogler has earned respect from politicians at both the local and state levels — Gov. Glenn Youngkin, gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones all released statements Wednesday, expressing horror at the attack and support for Vogler and his family.
Former Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder, now a professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University, taught Vogler when he was earning his bachelor’s degree.
“He was an A student, he wrote A papers,” Wilder said in a phone interview. “He participated in leading class discussions. He wasn’t bound by the book. He had a grasp of what was going on around the world and around the nation.”
The two stayed in touch after Vogler graduated, Wilder said.
Wilder, a Black Democrat, endorsed Vogler, a white Republican, during Vogler’s run for reelection to the city council in 2024.
“I like to talk with him a lot because in his area of the state, a lot of people have different views as to where the divide is,” Wilder said. “He and I never spoke of divides.”
When Wilder heard of the attack, he said he called Vogler, left a voicemail and sent an email.
“That just makes me mad to see that he’s hurt,” he said. “I just hope that this does not cause him any withdrawing from public life. The people are very fortunate to have someone like Lee Vogler.”
A Danville native, Vogler first made headlines as the youngest person to be elected to city council back in 2012, when he was just 24 years old. Since then, he has been reelected every four years.
Vogler had a hand in the early stages of the rehabilitation of Danville’s White Mill, a 550,000-square-foot building that once operated as a textile mill. The building, now called Dan River Falls, has been transformed into residential and commercial spaces.
Vogler tagged a Wisconsin-based developer, the Alexander Company, in a tweet about the White Mill in 2017.
“Would love for you guys to come take a look at our historic riverfront White Mill in #DanvilleVA. It has so much potential,” Vogler wrote.
Vogler had seen the company’s portfolio of rehabilitation projects across the country, he said in a 2023 interview.
“As we’re sitting there in City Hall, I sent that tweet out and I picked what I thought were the four best renderings,” Vogler said at that time. “Within about 30 minutes, I don’t even think we had left the meeting yet, I got a response.”
The $85 million project broke ground in early 2023. With its massive presence along a main thoroughfare through the city and near the Dan River, Vogler calls the redeveloped mill the “crown jewel” of Danville.
He has affectionately dubbed his hometown “the comeback city” and himself “the comeback kid.”
In 2017, the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized him as Virginia Local Legislator of the Year. In 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Vogler to the Virginia Small Business Commission.
His roles with the city — as a council member and the chairman of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facilities Authority — are rounded out by various community engagements.
The father of two has coached youth sports, served on the executive committee for the annual holiday youth basketball tournament, and is a member of the Danville Kiwanis club.
His most recent Instagram post, from July 7, has been flooded with comments expressing support — from both near and far.
“Prayers from NYC for you and your loved ones,” reads one comment.
“Sending thoughts from the UK. What happened to you is terrible,” said another.
A Facebook post by Vogler’s mother, Rhonda McCubbins Vogler, had over 240 comments expressing support on Wednesday evening.
“Urgent prayers for my son Lee Vogler,” she wrote. “I believe in the power of prayer. I told Lee God’s got him and we’re praying for him.”
Danville leaders including Jones and council member Gary Miller referred to Vogler not only as a colleague, but as a friend and family member in statements earlier Wednesday.
Danville has reelected all of its incumbents to the city council in the past two election cycles. The council members are a close group, setting themselves apart by identifying as a nonpartisan body, while councils in nearby Martinsville and Lynchburg have been rife with political tension.
“This is so heartbreaking and unbelievable. Prayers for Lee, his family and the entire council and city,” read a comment under council member James Buckner’s Facebook post, which quoted the mayor’s statement about the attack.
“If there is anything other city and town councils can do for your city at this time, please don’t hesitate to ask,” said another.
Wilder also expressed a desire to help any way he could, saying that he is willing to arrange any follow-up medical care that might be needed.
“He’s like a little brother to me,” Wilder said. “Anything I can do, I’m there for him.”
Dwayne Yancey contributed information to this report.
