(CNN) James Alex Fields, who was convicted by a Virginia jury of driving into a crowd during a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced.

The charges each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, so Fields will avoid the possibility of the death penalty.

The charges included one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, and 28 counts of hate crime acts that caused bodily injury and involved an attempt to kill other people in the crowd, the Department of Justice said.

Fields had previously pleaded not guilty to those charges, as well as a charge of racially motivated violent interference with a federally protected activity.

Attorney General Bill Barr and US Attorney Thomas T. Cullen both said Fields committed an act of domestic terrorism when he drove into a crowd of protesters that August day.

Read More