A screenshot from the footage below shows GILLEN, DALEY, WHITE, and MISELIS, acting in concert with each other as they continue to engage in acts of violence towards counter protestors. (Charlottesville riot complaint affidavit)

In the this screen shot, Daley can be seen in the process of grabbing a female counter- protestor by the next and body slamming her to the ground. (Charlottesville riot complaint affidavit)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1018, in Charlottesville, Va., regarding the arrest of four members of a militant white supremacist group in connection with a white nationalist torch-lit march and rally in Charlottesville, last year. The defendants, Benjamin Drake Daley, Michael Paul Miselis, Thomas Walter Gillen and Cole Evan White, are part of the Rise Above Movement, which espouses anti-Semitic views and meets regularly in public parks to train in boxing and other fighting techniques, according to an affidavit filed in the case. (Zack Wajsgras/The Daily Progress via AP)



Four alleged members of a Southern California-based militant white-supremacist group, including three men from the South Bay and one from Northern California, were arrested Tuesday on charges they traveled to Virginia last year to incite a riot and attack rival protesters at a rally that turned deadly, federal authorities said.

In court records unsealed Tuesday, federal prosecutors identified Benjamin Drake Daley, 25, of Redondo Beach;Thomas Walter Gillen, 34, of Redondo Beach; Michael Paul Miselis, 29, of Lawndale; and Cole Evan White, 24, of Clayton as being members the “Rise Above Movement,” a militant white-supremacist organization based in Southern California.

Along with their alleged actions during the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the four men also are also suspected of taking parts in acts of violence during a March 2017 rally in support of President Donald Trump in Huntington Beach that turned into a 30-minute melee.

“This is a group that essentially subscribes to an anti-Semitic, racist ideology, and then organizes, trains, and deploys to various political rallies, not only to espouse this particular ideology but also to engage in acts of violence against folks who are taking a contrary point of view,” U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said at a news conference in Charlottesville.

Organized by white-nationalist figures who claimed to be demonstrating against the removal of a public statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the Charlottesville rally drew national attention as it unfolded over two days, culminating with a self-professed neo-Nazi ramming his car into another vehicle on a crowded street, killing counter-protester Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrants and criminal complaints against Daley, Gillen, Miselis and White, the four men traveled from California to Charlottesville to take part in both a march on Aug. 11, 2017 and a rally the following day at Emancipation Park, both of which erupted in violence between hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters.

“In our view, these four committed particularly violent acts in Charlottesville. Secondly, they committed violent acts in California at other rallies. Therefore, in our view, they were essentially serial rioters,” Cullen said.

The affidavit includes photographs and screenshots of men prosecutors have identified as Daley, Gillen, Miselis and White violently attacking numerous counter-protesters. Among those images, prosecutors allege, is evidence of White using a torch as a weapon, Daley punching and kicking a counter-protester, White head-butting a clergyman and a woman, Miselis shoving an African-American man to the ground and striking him, and Daley body-slamming a woman.

During his news conference, Cullen said the investigators reviewed an “incredible volume” of video and still photographs to make sure there was “no provocation” for the violence they are accused of engaging in. He noted they arrived at the rally with their hands taped, “ready to do street battle.”

According to the court filing, the FBI has been investigating the Rise Above Movement, which prosecutors alleges regularly meets in public parks in Southern California to train in “physical fitness, boxing and other fighting techniques.”

The group’s members often post photos on social media of themselves posing shirtless with skull half-masks, according to the affidavit, and its members openly identify themselves as “alt-right” or “nationalist.”

A ProPublica investigation previously linked the Rise Above Movement with white supremacist activity across the country. Experts noted that such activity often flies “under the radar” in Southern California.

According to The Anti-Defamation League, Rise Above Movement members believe they are fighting against a “modern world” corrupted by the “destructive cultural influences” of liberals, Jews, Muslims and non-white immigrants. Members refer to themselves as the mixed martial arts club of the “alt-right” fringe movement, a loose mix of neo-Nazis, white nationalists and other far-right extremists.

Daley, whose Facebook page lists him as a Hermosa Beach resident, has been identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a leader in the Rise Above Movement who is featured prominently in the groups recruitment videos.

“Daley has a history of using social media to promote anti-Semitic cartoons and conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the banking, media and legal system,” the website said.

Daley previously pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed firearm and served seven days in Los Angeles County Jail, according to court records.

Daley owns Ben’s Palm & Tree Service, which serves Manhattan Beach and surrounding communities, according to a page on Yelp.

Daley also told ProPublica he had plans of joining the military, though it’s unclear if he enlisted.

Miselis was a “prominent” member of the Rise Above Movement, according to the complaint.

Miselis worked as a systems engineer for defense giant Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach until the day after ProPublica identified him as a member of the Rise Above Movement in July 2017, the news site reported.

Northrop Grumman spokesman Mark Root confirmed that Miselis is no longer an employee, but declined to provide further details, such as how long he worked for the company and what his position was.

Miselis had a security clearance and was a graduate student in UCLA’s aerospace engineering program, according to ProPublica.

White had been an employee at Top Dog, a popular Berkeley hot dog restaurant, until social media users circulated photos of him at the Charlottesville rally. People quickly turned to Top Dog’s Yelp pages and social media accounts, demanding that White be fired.

White resigned, according to an email from Top Dog’s management sent the day after the Charlottesville rally.

“The actions of those in Charlottesville are not supported by Top Dog,” the email said at the time. “We believe in individual freedom and voluntary association for everyone.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if the defendants have attorneys who could comment on their behalf.

Cullen said each defendant faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on the two counts they each face: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. However, defendants often get less than the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.