Black man beaten in Charlottesville found not guilty of assaulting white supremacist

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post




By Ian Shapira March 16 at 12:47 PM

A black man brutally beaten at last year’s white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. — and who was later charged with assaulting a white nationalist — was acquitted Friday.

DeAndre Harris, 20, a former special education instructional assistant, was found not guilty by Charlottesville General District Court Judge Robert Downer Jr. on a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery against Harold Crews, a North Carolina attorney and state chairman of The League of the South. If Harris had been convicted, he would have faced up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The acquittal is a relief for Harris, who was viciously beaten inside a parking garage next to the city’s police department on Aug. 12, 2017. He suffered a spinal injury and head lacerations that required 10 stitches.

Two months later, his legal path took an unexpected turn when Crews filed a police report and then persuaded a Charlottesville magistrate to issue an arrest warrant in October on a felony charge of unlawful wounding, which carries a five-year maximum sentence. The news was cheered online by white nationalists.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/black-man-beaten-in-charlottesville-found-not-guilty-of-assaulting-white-supremacist/2018/03/16/92160a88-288f-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

1. The fact he was charged at all is a travesty

[dalton99a]

3. +1

[gopiscrap]

6. +2

[Judi Lynn]

14. Hideous choice to charge him reveals their prosecutor is totally dirty. You're so right. n/t

[Leghorn21]

2. So hows that *organizing legal defense* idea workin out for ya, HAROLD??

“While it is unclear how many attorneys the League has among its ranks, it stands to reason that Harold Crews will participate in organizing legal defense for any League members arrested in Charlottesville.” - SPLC link

Hahahhaahaaaaa

[meow2u3]

4. He never should have been charged

He was the victim of white supremacists who beat him to a pulp, so why did prosecutors decide to try to blame the victim of a hate crime instead of the real criminals?

[john657]

10. This!!!!

He was the victim of white supremacists who beat him to a pulp, so why did prosecutors decide to try to blame the victim of a hate crime instead of the real criminals?

I think we all know the reason why. Racism.

He should never have been charged in the first place.

Fucking racists.

[Leghorn21]

5. Hope you are recovering nicely, DeAndre - all best wishes to you, young man

[Collimator]

7. When this young man was charged--

It was unbelievably insulting to African-Americans, proponents of the First Amendment, believers in justice and anybody with more than a few functioning brain cells.

Why they don't arrest anybody who has ever been punched in the teeth for scraping up the knuckle-skin of their poor, "victims"?

Reminds me of the fact that The Church actually billed the families of torture victims for the services of their "examination councils" during the Spanish Inquisition.

[Ligyron]

12. Welcome to DU!

You're right, he brutally assaulted several people's fists and feet with his face.

It was reported one KKK members favorite 2X4 and anothers pipe was permanently stained with his blood.

[LiberalLovinLug]

8. I thought reading that title, this was The Onion

My gawd, who was that Charlottesville magistrate that was "convinced" Harris should be arrested?

[dalton99a]

9. Avnel Alair Coates

[SunSeeker]

16. I hope that scumbag is removed from office. Meanwhile, send your messages to:

Avnel Alair Coates, Chief Magistrate

Sixteenth Judicial District

1610 Avon Street Extended

Charlottesville, VA 22902

[phone]

[Gothmog]

11. This case should never have gone to trial

[Chrysanthemum]

13. The white nationalists

Should pay his attorney's fees.

[SunSeeker]

15. How did that Nazi Harold Crews get the local police to arrest DeAndre??

There should be an investigation into that travesty.

Hopefully this verdict puts an end to this outrageous practice, as noted by BLM:

“The verdict shows that the white supremacist tactic of marching into a community, inciting violence, and later pressing charges against those who defend themselves will not work here,” Lisa Woolfork, an organizer with Black Lives Matter-Charlottesville, said in a statement. “It should not work anywhere. The partnership that these white supremacists believed they had with the judicial system has been dissolved.”
http://ktla.com/2018/03/17/black-man-captured-on-video-being-beaten-by-white-supremacists-in-charlottesville-acquitted-of-assault-charges/