Black man beaten at white supremacist rally in Charlottesville faces felony charge

A black man seen in a viral video being beaten by a crowd at a white nationalist demonstration in Charlottesville, Va., is reportedly facing a felony charge in connection with the incident.

A local magistrate issued an arrest warrant on Monday for DeAndre Harris, 20, who is being charged with one count of malicious wounding, according to local reports.

{mosads}An unidentified accuser claimed he was injured by Harris.

S. Lee Merritt, an attorney for Harris, told The Washington Post the charge is “clearly retaliatory.” 

“We find it highly offensive and upsetting, but what’s more jarring is that he’s been charged with the same crime as the men who attacked him,” Merritt told the newspaper.

Merritt also said the accuser is tied to the white supremacist groups, and suggested that the person had tried earlier to implicate Harris in the incident,  according to the Post.

Merritt added that the warrant is “highly unusual,” saying that they are typically issued by the police department instead of a magistrate.

The attorney, who insists Harris did not start the fight, told the Post that Harris plans to turn himself in at some point in the coming days.

A video of the beating shows a group of approximately six people converging on Harris before clubbing him with wooden sticks, and kicking and stomping him inside a downtown parking garage last August.

Two other men are charged with malicious wounding for allegedly attacking Harris, according to local reports.

Harris has said the attack left him with a concussion, a gash on his head that required nearly a dozen staples, and other injuries.