4 men associated with white supremacist group face federal charges in Charlottesville violence
White nationalists and counter-protesters clash in during a rally in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia./Kim Kelley-Wagner (Shutterstock.com).
Four members or associates of a white supremacist group called the Rise Above Movement face rioting charges in connection with the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The four men arrested Tuesday are charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal riots statute and one count of violating the federal riots statute, according to a press release. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Virginian-Pilot and the Los Angeles Times have coverage.
According to court papers cited in the articles, the four men were “among the most violent individuals present in Charlottesville.” They are accused of traveling to the August 2017 rally with the intent to promote and participate in violence. At the rally, they are accused of punching, kicking, head-butting and pushing counterprotesters, causing some serious injuries.
The Rise Above Movement has anti-Semitic views and meets in public parks to train in fighting techniques, a court affidavit says.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen of the Western District of Virginia said at a Tuesday press conference that the investigation took 13 months partly because investigators had to sift through photographs and videos to identify the perpetrators. He also praised the ProPublica news organization for its “fantastic work” covering the violence.
The four men facing charges are Benjamin Drake Daley, 25, and Thomas Walter Gillen, 24, both of Redondo Beach, California; Michael Paul Miselis, 29, of Lawndale, California; and Cole Evan White, 24, of Clayton, California.
James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, a driver accused of plowing into a crowd and killing a paralegal who was protesting the white supremacists, was previously charged with murder in state court and hate crimes in federal court.
