WASHINGTON, June 28 (Xinhua) -- An Ohio man accused of perpetrating the deadly car attack in Charlottesville in the state of Virginia during last summer's violent "Unite the Right Rally" has been charged with federal hate crimes.
James Alex Fields Jr., 21, of Maumee, Ohio, is indicted on 30 federal charges, including hate crimes resulting in death and bodily injury, according to a release by the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
Last year's rally in historic Charlottesville, held on August 12, was to protest cities taking down Confederate statues. Multiple groups and individuals, including Fields, engaged in chants promoting or expressing white supremacist and other racist and anti-Semitic views before clashing violently with counter-protesters.
A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured when Fields, described by a former teacher as having a keen interest in Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, allegedly drove a car into the crowd of counter-protesters and fled the scene.
Fields was arrested shortly after the hit-and-run, and has also been charged with murder by the state of Virginia. His trial is expected to start later this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump drew a firestorm of criticism following the Charlottesville incident when he said "both sides" were to blame for the violence.
Hundreds of people are expected to participate in a demonstration in Washington D.C. this summer on the one-year anniversary of the deadly rally.
Jason Kessler, who helped organize the "Unite the Right" rally, was planning this year's "White Civil Rights" rally at Lafayette Square near the White House.
In an application approved by the National Park Service, Kessler wrote that he expected 400 people to attend the event.
