Man charged with participating in march with flaming torch has pleaded guilty to lesser charge

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Another man charged with carrying a flaming torch with the intent to intimidate during a 2017 rally at the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville has agreed to a plea deal.

Dallas Jerome Nicholas Medina, 32, of Ravenna, Ohio, was originally indicted on a felony intimidation charge, but pleaded guilty on Oct. 31 in Albemarle County Circuit Court to a reduced charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and will not serve any jail time, The Daily Progress reported.

“It seemed like a reasonable outcome for everybody, a reasonable compromise,” Medina’s lawyer, Mike Hallahan, told The Daily Progress after the hearing.

Medina’s case is among more than a dozen stemming from an event on Aug. 11, 2017. That’s when a group of white nationalists carrying torches marched through the campus of the University of Virginia, some chanting, “Jews will not replace us.” He was the fourth participant to enter a plea deal.

In addition to the four misdemeanor pleas, six people have been convicted of felonies and one case ended with a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Lawton Tufts, who prosecuted Medina, said in court that three factors warranted the lesser charge: he had no prior criminal record, he was not accused of assaulting anyone and he helped stop a fight.

When asked if he wanted to comment, Medina was reticent.

“I got to go home,” he told The Daily Progress. “Sorry.”