Multiple white nationalist groups march with torches from the University of Virginia campus on Aug. 11, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va.
Mykal McEldowney/AP
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Mykal McEldowney/AP
Multiple white nationalist groups march with torches from the University of Virginia campus on Aug. 11, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va.
Mykal McEldowney/AP
RICHMOND, Va. — Nearly six years after a large gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville erupted into violent clashes with counter-protesters, a grand jury in Virginia has indicted several people on felony charges for carrying flaming torches with intent to intimidate.
The Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release that the charges relate to an event on August 11, 2017. That’s when a group of white nationalists who were carrying torches they marched through the campus of the University of Virginia, some chanting, “The Jews will not replace us.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley did not say in the release how many people have been charged and did not immediately return a phone call and email seeking comment on Tuesday. According to electronic court records, indictments against three people have been unsealed, including William Zachary Smith, of Nacona, Texas; Tyler Bradley Dykes, of Bluffton, South Carolina; and Dallas Medina, of Ravenna, Ohio.
Each is charged with one count of burning an object with the intent to intimidate a person or group of people. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.
Smith’s attorney, Cody Villalon, declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday. Dykes and Medina do not have the names of any attorneys listed in electronic court records.
The charges, which were issued in February but only recently unsealed, come nearly six years after violence erupted during two days of demonstrations by the largest gathering of white nationalists in a decade.
The fighting started on the night of August 11, 2017, during the torch march, and continued the next day, when a “Unite the Right” rally was planned. James Alex Fields Jr., a white supremacist from Maumee, Ohio, rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring dozens. Fields is serving a life sentence for murder and hate crimes.
Prosecutors said the charges were issued “as part of an active and ongoing criminal investigation,” adding that they work with law enforcement to investigate, analyze applicable laws, and file charges “when appropriate.”
“This is our process regardless of how much time has passed or where the alleged offenders can be found,” they said.
Former President Donald Trump opened a storm of criticism when he said that there were “very good people on both sides” of the clashes between white nationalists and anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville.
