Reporter punched in face during Charlottesville rally

CHARLOTTESVILLE - "This man is dangerous," Taylor Lorenz wrote in her witness report.

The complaint from the reporter for The Hill was one of several released Monday by the City of Charlottesville after the "Unite the Right" rally. A total of six people were arrested by city police and another by Virginia State Police.

The Hill covers Capitol Hill from Washington, D.C.

"This man came up and started yelling at me to stop recording," Lorenz wrote in her witness statement. "I showed him my press credentials (I'm a reporter) and he started screaming at me.

"Then he came up behind me, punched me in the face," she wrote.

That's when she fell forward.

More: The aftermath of an attack in Charlottesville

"He knocked the phone from my hand and threw me to the ground," she continued. "I called for police to help. People were injured but I still didn't want him to get away with punching me then leaving. He kept threatening me, saying he would 'beat my ass.' Then he said his 'bitch' would beat my ass. I was so scared. This man is dangerous."

Lorenz was livestreaming during the events Saturday and tweeting.

The man who punched her was identified as Jacob L. Smith, 21, of Louisa, Virginia. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault & battery on Aug. 12. He was released Monday morning on a $1,000 bond.

Virginia State Trooper Nigel Guishard was running security at Emancipation Park when someone came up to him.

"I was running security at Emancipation Park when a New York militiaman came up to me and stated that the accused was throwing something in the crowd," Guishard wrote in his statement. "After questioning the accused he stated, 'I'm sorry officer, I won't do it again.' He was throwing at the Nazi protestors in Emancipation Park."

The accused, Troy Dunigan, 21, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct on Aug. 12. He was released.

Also arrested were:

James M. O’Brien, 44, of Gainesville, Florida, was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed handgun on Aug. 12.

Steven Balcaitis, 36, of York, South Carolina was arrested and charged with assault and battery on Aug. 13.

David Parrott, 35, of Paoli, Indiana was arrested and charged with failure to disperse on Aug. 12.

Virginia State Police arrested and charged a Charlottesville man, Robert K. Litzenberger, 47, with a misdemeanor after a trooper observed him spit on Jason Kessler as Kessler abandoned the press conference on Sunday. He was released on unsecured bond.

The event brought thousands to the area — either to support the "Unite the Right" rally or opposed. On Saturday, the rally was declared of an unlawful assembly.

But, the day turned violent very quickly. The rally didn't even start before it was declared an unlawful assembly, which spurred a number of protests throughout the city.

Those in attendance eventually filtered to the pedestrian-friendly downtown mall of Charlottesville.

That's when things turned deadly. A gray Dodge Challenger going at least 30 mph plowed into several anti-racism protesters in the street, causing a wreck with two other cars and injuring 19 people in addition to the one woman who was killed, according to police.

James Fields, 20, of Ohio, was charged with 2nd-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of failing to stop, according to the Charlottesville Police Department. A judge denied Fields bail on Monday. He is set back in court Aug. 25.

Follow Laura Peters @peterslaura and @peterpants. You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com or 213-9125.