A black man who was beaten at a white supremacist rally this summer – and later charged with assault – has been acquitted on all charges.

DeAndre Harris made national headlines when he was attacked in a parking garage following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August. Supporters were shocked when one of his alleged assailants – white supremacist Harold Ray Crews – responded by filing his own assault charges against Mr Harris.

More than 100 of Mr Harris's supporters turned out to hear Charlottesville General District Court Judge Robert Downer read out his verdict on Friday, according to NBC. The judge found the 20-year-old not guilty, sparing him up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Rhonda Quagliana, a defence attorney for Mr Harris, said she was “happy and relieved” at the outcome.

“DeAndre is a 20-year-old young person and the things that happened to him on that day, and the difficulties that he’s endured after the last several months, have been nothing short of overwhelming for someone his age,” she told The Independent.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Mr Harris and several friends travelled to Charlottesville last summer to counter-protest the right-wing rally, which was billed as the largest white supremacist gathering in decades.

Mr Harris, Mr Crews and several other people engaged in a scuffle after the event, in which the counter-protester struck the white supremacist with a flashlight. A group of people then followed Mr Harris into a nearby parking garage and attacked him, leaving him with a spinal injury and head lacerations that required 10 stitches.

Video of the assault circulated online, adding to national outrage about the rally, where protesters carried confederate flags and chanted “Jews will not replace us”.

Another counter-protester, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed at the rally when she was struck by a car –one allegedly driven by white supremacist James Fields.

In a Charlottesville courtroom on Friday, Mr Downer told anxious observers that Mr Harris was not guilty of assault because he did not mean to strike Mr Crews. Instead, the judge said, he was attempting to protect his friend, whom he thought Mr Crews was attacking.

Nazi shouts "Hey n****" and fires gunshot at counter-protester in Charlottesville

Ms Quagliana, who took the case pro-bono, called Mr Harris’s defence a “group effort”. Students from the University of Virginia, where the rally took place, volunteered their time to work on the case, she said. A court reporter also volunteered her services during the trial.