WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- An Ohio man accused of perpetrating the deadly car attack in Charlottesville in the state of Virginia during last summer's violent "Unite the Right Rally" pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges on Thursday.
James Alex Fields Jr., 21, of Maumee, Ohio, entered the plea during his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville. He was indicted last week on 30 federal charges, including hate crimes resulting in death and bodily injury.
Last year's rally in historic Charlottesville, held on August 12, was to protest cities taking down Confederate statues.
Multiple groups and individuals, including Fields, engaged in chants promoting or expressing white supremacist and other racist and anti-Semitic views before clashing violently with counter-protesters.
A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured when Fields, described by a former teacher as having a keen interest in Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, allegedly drove a car into the crowd of counter-protesters and fled the scene.
Fields was arrested shortly after the hit-and-run, and has also been charged with murder and other crimes under Virginia law. He is set to face trial on those charges later this year.
Fields' attorneys made no request for bail on Thursday.
One of the federal charges Fields faces carries the death penalty but prosecutors have not decided yet whether they would seek that punishment.
U.S. President Donald Trump drew a firestorm of criticism following the Charlottesville incident when he said "both sides" were to blame for the violence.
Hundreds of people are expected to participate in a demonstration near the White House in Washington D.C. this summer on the one-year anniversary of the deadly rally.
The event was planned by Jason Kessler, who helped organize the "Unite the Right" rally.
