Daniel P. Horton and Alex Michael Ramos have both been arrested for their suspected roles in attacking DeAndre Harris during the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally that eventually left Heather Heyer dead and others injured August 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The arrests appear to be the result of crowdsourcing information on the two participants via Twitter, with a lion’s share of the credit going to activist Shaun King.
Horton was arrested in Ohio and is being held on charges of malicious wounding in connection with aggravated assault.
Several people who knew Ramos via Facebook identified him after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The 33-year-old resident of Marietta, Georgia appears to have partially implicated himself by confirming he participated in the rally. In typical white supremacist fashion, his reasoning wasn’t particularly logical.
“He posted about the attack on Facebook, saying that as a Puerto Rican man he disavowed white supremacy but participated in the rally because he despises leftists,” reported Frances Robles of the New York Times.
Still photos and video of at least five men attacking Harris at the rally began circulating shortly after Harris was beaten. A mob wielding shields and homemade weapons can be seen cornering Harris in a parking lot. The attack left Harris bloodied and unconscious with a broken wrist and a head injury that required 10 staples.
It’s possible the delays were procedural, as Twitter users falsely identified some of the men participating in the rally.
After reportedly offering a $10,000 reward for the identification of Ramos and Horton, King continued posting photos of the three remaining alleged attackers.
2 down.
3 to go.
Who are these men? We will find them. What are their names? pic.twitter.com/oLAVK6IYzs
Richard Preston was also arrested Saturday for his role in an unrelated event at the rally. Preston, who is reportedly an imperial wizard with the Ku Klux Klan, was filmed shooting his firearm toward the ground in the direction of a counter-protestor identified as Corey Long. Preston has since been charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.
