Suspect in Charlottesville Beating: I Hit Victim 'One Time'

Alex Michael Ramos arrested in Georgia, to be extradited to Virginia
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2017 8:38 AM CDT
Suspect in Charlottesville Beating Arrested in Georgia
Alex Michael Ramos   (Monroe County Sheriff's office via AP)

A Georgia man is in custody and set to be extradited to Virginia for his alleged role in the beating of a black man during the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. The Daily Progress reports that 33-year-old Alex Michael Ramos turned himself in to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office on Monday night and was charged with malicious wounding after the assault of Charlottesville resident DeAndre Harris, a 20-year-old special education assistant. Video of the Aug. 12 incident that's gone viral shows Harris being beaten by a group of men who'd attended the white nationalist rally in Emancipation Park. Harris' attorney says the assault started when Harris, who went to the rally to protest the white nationalist groups, stepped in to help a friend who'd gotten into an argument with a white supremacist. The New York Times notes Harris was attacked with wooden boards and pipes.

On his GoFundMe page, which drew more than $165,000, Harris detailed the incident and his injuries, which included a concussion and an ulnar fracture. Ramos spoke with CBS46 before he turned himself in, noting he was "absolutely not" a white supremacist (he says he's a Puerto Rican conservative who went to support free speech), that Harris was "attacking and taunting" people, and that he hit Harris "one time" and wasn't part of the beating with "sticks and shields." He also casts blame on local cops, saying in a video that police shouldn't have forced white nationalists into the streets with counterprotesters. Another man, 18-year-old Daniel Borden, was arrested in Ohio on Friday for his alleged part in the beating. "People are carrying real hate in their hearts for the Black Community and I refuse to just let it happen," Harris wrote on his GoFundMe page. His attorney says he plans on filing a suit. (More Charlottesville, Va. stories.)

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