Virginia prosecutors confirmed authorities have issued arrest warrants for Chris Cantwell, a white supremacist who participated in last weekend’s violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
A spokeswoman for the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney confirmed there are four outstanding warrants for Mr. Cantwell, but declined to say what the warrants were for or which agency issued them. The Boston Globe earlier reported that Mr. Cantwell was wanted on two felony warrants stemming from the violence in Charlottesville, including illegal use of gases, and injury by caustic agent or explosive.
A total of eight people have been arrested in connection with events that occurred during the weekend’s rally, according to Charlottesville authorities.
Mr. Cantwell was featured prominently in a Vice News documentary about the the weekend’s demonstration in Charlottesville, which began Friday with a group of torch-bearing white supremacists marching on the University of Virginia.
A rally to oppose the planned removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was set to be held Saturday, but shut down by police after violent skirmishes broke out between white supremacists and counter-protesters. Hours later, a car barreled into a crowd of protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deadly crash.
Between angry rants espousing hatred of Jews and blacks, Mr. Cantwell told Vice that his side was not the aggressor and blamed protesters for the deadly violence.
“I’m not even saying we’re nonviolent,” he told Vice. “I’m saying that we f—-ing didn’t aggress. We did not initiate force against anybody. We are not non-violent. We will f—-ing kill these people if we have to.”
But in a video later posted online, Mr. Cantwell admitted to being “engaged in violence.”
“I’m armed. I’m terrified. I’m afraid you are going to kill me,” Mr. Cantwell said in in a tearful plea to police, which he recorded after learning there might be warrants for his arrest. “I honestly believe I’ve been law abiding. And I’ve been engaged in violence, I have. There is no question about that and I have done nothing to hide that. But it was done in defense of myself and others.”
Mr. Cantwell said he was trying to learn more from police about how to surrender himself to officers but said he was afraid to return to Charlottesville because of the chaos there.
Charlottesville city spokeswoman Miriam Dickler said the city’s police department has not issued a warrant for Mr. Cantwelll’s arrest. University of Virginia police did not return messages about whether their department issued the warrants.
Eight others were arrested during the course of the weekend’s events, including 20-year-old James Fields, who authorities charged with second-degree murder after they said he plowed his car through the crowd of protesters.
Ms. Dickler said none of the eight arrests were for the violent beating of 20-year-old Deandre Harris, whose attack was caught on video. Activists claim to have identified several of his attackers through online crowdsourcing efforts. However, Ms. Dickler said the Charlottesville Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.
Video of the attack on Mr. Harris, who is black, shows him on the ground inside a parking garage being beaten by numerous white men who wield shields and sticks. Mr. Harris’ family has spoken out about the injuries he suffered, saying his wrist was broken and a head wound required eight staples to close.
The others who were arrested over the weekend are:
- Ian Hoffman, 29, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania who was arrested on Aug. 11 for misdemeanor assault during the rally at the University of Virginia.
-Troy Dunigan, 21, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was arrested Saturday and charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly throwing objects at “Nazi protesters.”
- Jacob L. Smith, 21, of Louisa, Virginia, who was arrested Saturday and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery for allegedly punching a reporter in the head.
- James M. O’Brien, 44, of Gainesville, Florida, who was arrested Saturday and charged with carrying a concealed handgun.
- Steven Balcaitis, 36, of York, South Carolina was arrested Saturday for for assault and battery.
- David Parrott, 35, or Paoli, Indiana was arrested Saturday for failure to disperse
- Robert Litzenberger, 47, of Charlottesville, was arrested Sunday and charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly spitting on Jason Kessler, the organizer of Saturday’s “Unite the Right” rally, as he attempted to speak with reporters.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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