Federal Bureau of Investigation

18-Year-Old Charged in Charlottesville Beating of Black Man With Pipes, Sticks

An 18-year-old has been arrested in the brutal beating of a black man during the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month, and a second suspect is wanted by police.

Daniel Borden, 18, is one of several people believed to have beaten DeAndre Harris in a parking garage, a spokesman for the Charlottesville Police Department told NBC29 in Charlottesville.

Photographs show several men beating Harris with poles and sticks near the violent rally Aug. 12. The 21-year-old suffered a broken wrist and a chipped tooth, and he got eight staples in his scalp to close a head wound.

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Zach D. Roberts via AP
In this Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017 photo, DeAndre Harris, bottom is assaulted in a parking garage beside the Charlottesville police station after a white nationalist rally was disbursed by police, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Borden was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated assault. He is being held in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A second man, Alex Michael Ramos, 33, also is suspected of beating Harris, police told NBC29. He is wanted on an aggravated assault charge and was last known to live in Marietta, Georgia, police said.

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Charlottesville Police Department
Alex Michael Ramos, 33

Anyone with information on Ramos' whereabouts is asked to call police.

Borden surrendered to the FBI when he learned a warrant for his arrest had been issued, his lawyer, Greg Berberich, said in a statement to NBC29.

A white nationalist rally turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 12.

The 18-year-old's lawyer blamed Black Lives Matter activists and anti-fascists for his client's alleged crimes.

"He will defend himself against charges filed as a consequence of rioting caused by the City of Charlottesville's decision to allow BLM and Antifah members to attack those protesting the removal of Robert E. Lee's statue from a local park," Berberich said in a statement.

"As Dan attempted to leave the protest grounds, he was struck in the head and tear gassed multiple times," the lawyer said. "Dan repeatedly requested protection from Charlottesville Police and was ignored. We believe Dan will be exonerated."

President Donald Trump responded to the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Additionally, police say Richard Wilson Preston was charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. The 52-year-old was in custody in Towson, Maryland. 

James Alex Fields Jr. faces second-degree murder charges for driving a car into counter-protesters and killing Heather Heyer. He has been in custody since the day of the rally.

Police said Saturday that they have identified 35 victims in the car attack. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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