JENA , Louisiana ( CNN ) -- Mychal Bell , the sole defendant who remains behind bars from the group of teens known as the `` Jena 6 , '' will not be released Friday , a court decided . Mychal Bell , 17 , is accused with five others of beating Justin Barker in a school fight . Bell , 17 , has been in jail since his arrest more than nine months ago . It was not immediately clear what happened in court Friday , where Bell 's attorneys had planned to push for his release . `` It is our understanding that the judge refused to give bond or bail to Mychal Bell today , '' the Rev . Al Sharpton , a civil rights activist who traveled to Jena for Thursday 's rally , said in a written statement . A source inside the court said the issue of bond was not discussed at the hearing . Attorneys did not immediately comment . The proceedings , involving a juvenile , are not open to media . Bell 's mother left the courthouse in tears . `` We 'll be back , '' shouted one Jena 6 supporter outside the courthouse Friday . With thousands of demonstrators converging on the small town Thursday to decry what they call `` unequal justice , '' the state 's 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ordered a bond hearing for Bell within 72 hours . It was set for Friday morning . See highlights from the march » . Also on Friday , the FBI said it was looking into an online posting by a neo-Nazi white supremacist group that published the home addresses of all six of the African-American teenagers , as well as the phone numbers of some . The group said on its Web site it is calling on followers to `` let them know justice is coming . '' Bell is the only one of the six teenagers to stand trial so far . District Attorney Reed Walters tried him as an adult and won convictions on two charges . Walters has said he believes Bell was the instigator of the alleged beating of classmate Justin Barker . Last week , the appellate court vacated Bell 's battery conviction , saying he should never have been tried as an adult . He was 16 at the time ; 17 is the legal adult age in Louisiana . A district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell 's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery . On Tuesday , a three-judge panel said it was `` premature '' to consider releasing Bell . The district attorney will determine whether to refile the charges in juvenile court , a defense attorney said . Bails for the Jena 6 had been set at between $ 70,000 and $ 138,000 , and all but Bell posted bond . The judge has refused to lower his $ 90,000 bail , citing the teen 's record , which includes four juvenile offenses -- two simple battery charges among them . Bell and five other defendants were arrested in the alleged beating of Barker , who is white , at their high school on December 4 . The incident followed months of racial tension , sparked originally when three white teens hung nooses from an oak tree the day after a group of black students violated an unofficial rule among students that only whites sit in that area . See timeline of how events unfolded » . Prosecutors originally charged all six black students with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy . Walters reduced charges against at least four of them -- Bell , Robert Bailey Jr. , Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw -- to battery and conspiracy . Bryant Purvis awaits arraignment . Charges against Jesse Ray Beard , 14 at the time of the alleged crime , are unavailable because he 's a juvenile . Civil rights leaders and other demonstrators call events in Jena a sign of unequal justice in the 21st century . The white kids who hung the nooses were briefly suspended from classes but faced no punishments from the legal system . Donald Washington , U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana , told CNN that the FBI and other investigators thought the noose incident bore the markings of a hate crime , but a decision was made not to press charges because the case did n't meet federal criteria . The students were under 18 and had no prior records , and no group such as the Ku Klux Klan was found to be behind their actions . Authorities estimated about 15,000 to 20,000 protesters came out Thursday to Jena -- a town of about 3,000 , according to the 2000 census . E-mail to a friend .
2016 : Court looking into online attacks by neo - Nazi white nationalist group . Court decides not to release Mychal Bell . Whether his bond discussed this is unclear ; he sought release . Bell is the only person from group known as ` ` Jena 6 '' still in custody .