James Fields Jr., 21, faced 29 federal charges for his actions at the “Unite the Right” rally. They included one count of a hate crime that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racism activist, and 28 counts for the injuries to nearly 40 other protesters. Each of the 29 counts carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement that the hate crimes “were also acts of domestic terrorism.”
“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month,” Barr said, “we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions.”
He added that prosecuting hate crimes was a priority for his office.
Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges connected to the attack. The jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against white nationalists, and recommended that he spend the rest of his life in prison.
He was also convicted of nine other state charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, for which the jury recommended a sentence of hundreds more years in prison.
He is due to be sentenced on both the federal and state charges in July, The Associated Press reported.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.