Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally, speaks with reporters at the spot where her daughter was killed in Charlottesville, Va. Four men have been arrested in connection with violence at the rally. | Steve Helber/AP Photo Legal 4 members of hate group arrested over Charlottesville rally

Four California men were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of inciting violence at the Unite the Right rally last year in Charlottesville, Virginia, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Benjamin Drake Daley, Michael Paul Miselis, Thomas Walter Gillen and Cole Evan White were found to be part of the white supremacist Rise Above Movement and used social media to promote violence at the rally last summer, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen said at a news conference in Charlottesville. The men have a history of inciting violence at political events in California, he said, meaning they qualify as serial rioters.


Federal prosecutors culled information from the men’s social media profiles and have more evidence to prosecute them than they had following the Boston Marathon bombings, Cullen said. Federal investigations into the violence during the rally are far from over, he said, and more people may be charged going forward.

The defendants went to the rally with tape over their fists and engaged in punching, kicking and other physically violent acts, injuring multiple people, Cullen said. Three people, including two police officers and one counter protester, were killed in connection with the rally, though not necessarily by the four defendants.

Three of the defendants were arrested in Southern California, and White was arrested in San Francisco. Cullen said the defendants could be tried by the end of the year and could face up to 10 years in prison.

