Vermont Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Charlottesville Rally

Seven Days / by Derek Brouwer / Aug 23, 2024 at 4:29 PM

Ryan Roy initially faced a felony charge for participating in the 2017 "Unite the Right" march in Charlottesville. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

By DEREK BROUWER
Published August 23, 2024 at 4:28 p.m.

rallyA Vermont man who wielded a torch with other white nationalists at an infamous 2017 march in Charlottesville, Va., has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for his role in the event.

Ryan Roy is among several participants at the so-called “Unite the Right” rally — a neo-Nazi revival that turned violent — to face criminal charges in Virginia. Local prosecutors initially brought felony charges against Roy and others under a state law that bars people from using a burning object to intimidate another. The law was passed in 2002 with the Ku Klux Klan in mind.

Roy pleaded guilty in Albemarle County Circuit Court earlier this month to the lesser misdemeanor charge. He entered a so-called “Alford” plea, which allows a defendant to accept conviction without trial while still maintaining innocence. A judge imposed a one-year suspended sentence, meaning Roy can avoid prison time.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” Roy said by phone on Friday, comparing the charges against him to the various criminal prosecutions of former president Donald Trump. “The entire thing is political.”

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