Federal prosecutors say a "hate crime motivation" should result in stricter sentences for three members of a white supremacist group who pleaded guilty to attacking counterprotesters at a rally in Virginia for far-right extremists.
In a court filing Monday, Justice Department prosecutors recommend prison sentences ranging from 30 months to 46 months for Rise Above Movement members Benjamin Daley, Michael Miselis and Thomas Gillen. Defense attorneys are seeking more lenient sentences from U.S. District Judge Norman Moon on Friday.
Prosecutors say members of the California-based group engaged in other racist and anti-Semitic activity before the August 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, such as gathering on a beach to burn books like "The Diary of Anne Frank" and disrupting a workshop on "white privilege" sponsored by the Committee for Racial Justice.
This story corrects the date of the Justice Department' court filing to Monday, not Tuesday. Will be updated.