Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman said Tuesday morning that he will not press charges against the torch-bearing white nationalists that gathered at the foot of the Robert E. Lee statue on Saturday night.

“We are not recommending charges based on what we know happened Saturday night,” Chapman said.

Soon after the brief demonstration led by “alt-right” figurehead Richard Spencer ended Saturday night, City Councilor Wes Bellamy called on Chapman to prosecute him and his followers.
White nationalists rally again at Lee statue; Bellamy calls for them to be prosecuted

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In a memo to City Manager Maurice Jones, Chapman said the state code Bellamy referenced in his statement is “specific to ‘burning a cross’” and that torch burning has not previously been held in court to constitute a “true threat.

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“Sec. 18.2-423.01B may have utility for law enforcement on occasion, but its application is limited to narrow circumstances,” Chapman said in his memo. “It is not enough that people feel a general threat — even a completely understandable and justified feeling — from the extreme and repugnant message or ideology expressed by torch-bearing demonstrators.