Court Documents: 6 out of 8 arrested in Charlottesville protests from out of state

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) — According to publicly released court documents, five of the six people arrested Saturday in Charlottesville after protests became violent were from outside of Virginia. A seventh man who was from Charlottesville was arrested Sunday.

While the majority of the people charged face misdemeanor charges ranging from assault and battery to carrying a concealed weapon, James Fields, from Ohio is being charged with 2nd-degree murder, 3 counts of malicious wounding and hit and run/failure to stop at a fatal vehicle collision after police say he drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.

Fields made his first court appearance in Charlottesville General District Court Monday and was given a court-appointed attorney.

So far Fields’ bond has not been set, but he will be back in court on August 25.

Six more suspects now face charges, including two Virginians.

1. Jacob Leigh Smith, from Louisa, Virginia is being charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after he was arrested Saturday. According to court documents, he was arrested after police said he hit a reporter.

“This man came up behind me and started yelling at me to stop recording. I showed him my press pass credentials and he started screaming at me then came up behind me and punched me in the face, I fell forward, he knocked the phone from my hand and threw me to the ground. I called for police to help, people were injured, but I still didn’t want him to get away with punching me then leaving. He kept threatening me, saying he would “beat my [expletive]” then said his “[expletive]” would beat my [expletive]. I was so scared, this man is dangerous,” read the police report.

Smith was released on a $1,000 secured bond. He will next appear in court Aug.18 at 10 a.m.

2. Troy Dunigan, from Chattanooga, Tennessee is being charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He was arrested Saturday for throwing objects at “Nazi protesters,” according to court documents.

“I was running security at [Emancipation Park] when a New York militiaman came up to me and stated that [Dunigan] was throwing something in the crowd. After questioning the accused, he stated ‘I’m sorry officer, I won’t do it again.’ He was throwing at the Nazi protesters in the Emancipation Park,” read the documents.

Dunigan will next appear in Charlottesville General District Court at 9 a.m. Aug.16.

3. James M. O’Brien, of Gainesville, Florida was arrested Saturday and charged with misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon.

O’Brien has been released, but documents show that he will not be allowed to leave the state until his trial, set for Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m. in Charlottesville.

4. David Parrot, from Paoli, Indiana was arrested Saturday and charged with failure to disperse a riot and will next appear at a hearing September 22 at 10:30 a.m.

5. Steven C. Balcaitis, from York, South Carolina was arrested Saturday and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery and is set to have a hearing Aug. 16 at 10 a.m.

6. Robert K. Litzenberger, from Charlottesville, was arrested Sunday after a Virginia State Trooper saw him spit on the man who organized Saturday’s rally, Jason Kessler. Police said Kessler was walking away from a press conference when the assault happened. During Kessler’s press conference, a crowd gathered. As the crowd grew more hostile towards Kessler, police provided him a safe exit from the site.

Litzenberger is being charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. It is not clear at this time when he will next appear in court. No court documents have yet been obtained for Litzenberger’s arrest.