'Crying Nazi' of Charlottesville walks free from jail for assaulting counter protesters at a racist rally but is banned from Virginia for five years

  • Christopher Cantwell has been banned from Virginia after Charlottesville rally
  • Cantwell marched through University of Virginia night before deadly protest  
  • White nationalists were protesting the removal of a confederate statue from park
  • He pleaded guilty to assault and battery for pepper spraying counter protesters
  • Cantwell was given eight hours to leave state and a five year ban from Virginia

The self-described ‘white nationalist’ who was seen sobbing in a YouTube video after a right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left him with a warrant out for his arrest, has been banned from the state.

Christopher Cantwell, also known as the ‘crying Nazi’ pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges following the rally on August 11, which was held to protest the removal of a confederate statue.

Cantwell admitted to using pepper spray on counter protesters, and was sentenced to two 12 month jail periods, with all but seven months of his sentence suspended, and with 107 days jail time served was freed from detention,The Washington Post reported.

The 37-year-old from Keene, New Hampshire, was ordered to leave Virginia within eight hours of the sentencing, and is not allowed to return for five years, and must pay a $250 fine for discussing his victims online.

Cantwell was involved in the rally on August 11, where torch-bearing men and women gathered at the University of Virginia, marching towards a statue of Thomas Jefferson chanting 'You will not replace us', and: 'Jews will not replace us'.

An ensuing battle with counter-protesters turned violent.   

Christopher Cantwell was kicked out of Virginia and banned for five years after pleading guilty to assault and batter during a right wing rally in Charlottesville in 2017

Christopher Cantwell has been kicked out of Virginia and banned for five years after pleading guilty to assault and batter during a right wing rally in Charlottesville last year

Cantwell used pepper spray on counter protesters during the Charlottesville rally (above). He pleaded guilty to assault charges in 2018 and was banned from Virginia for five years

Cantwell used pepper spray on counter protesters during the rally. After he was sentenced on Friday, he was given eight hours to get out of Virginia 

Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci told the Washington Post the outcome: ‘brings a measure of finality to the defendant’s dispersal of pepper spray nearly a year ago’.

‘This agreement was supported by the victims in this case, who have been consulted at each stage of the criminal process,’ Tracci said.

Tracci told DailyMail.com Cantwell's suspended sentence of 17 months is conditioned upon good behavior, including no contact with the two victims in this case.

'If he violates these terms, the Commonwealth is in a position to seek re-imposition of the balance of his unserved sentence,' he said.

'Because he pleaded guilty to two assault and batteries, and the maximum time for each is 12 months, he has 17 months suspended time and received credit for time served awaiting trial. 

'The resolution was supported by the victims, one of whom moved overseas.' 

Cantwell was pictured shirtless after the Charlottesville rally, crying in the gutter because he had been pepper-sprayed himself.

Days after the rally, an interview between Cantwell and VICE was published, where he said he was ‘trying to make himself more capable of violence’ and noted he would ‘f***ing kill these people [counter-protesters] if we have to’.

But the violent and confident persona he aired in his interview was replaced by a weeping and terrified man just days later, when he learned there was a warrant out for his arrest.

He told viewers he was scared he would be killed, and begged for guidance from the police on what to do. 

Cantwell is known as 'the crying Nazi' because of a video he shared online of himself tearing up after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest following his use of pepper spray on August 11, 2017. He was ordered to pay at least $750,000 on Tuesday

Cantwell, 37, is known as 'the crying nazi' because of a video he shared online of himself tearing up after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest following his use of pepper spray on August 11

Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, KKK and members of the 'alt-right' protested the removal of a confederate statue in Charlottesville on August 12 2017 - the day after Cantwell assaulted two people with pepper spray at a similar rally at the University of Virginia. Before long, counter-protesters had arrived and the rally turned fatally violent

Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, KKK and members of the 'alt-right' protested the removal of a confederate statue in Charlottesville on August 12 2017 - the day after Cantwell assaulted two people with pepper spray at a similar rally at the University of Virginia. Before long, counter-protesters had arrived and the rally turned fatally violent

White nationalists descended on Charlottesville again on August 12, 2017 - in part to protest plans to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. 

The group began fighting in the streets with counter protesters before the event even officially began.

The brawling went on for nearly an hour leaving dozens injured in plain view of officers, until the event eventually disbanded.

Later, as counter protesters were peacefully marching through a downtown street, a car drove into the crowd, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring many more.

James Alex Fields Jr, who had been seen marching with white supremacist groups, was behind the wheel, and he has been charged with first degree murder.

City officials had earlier tried to move the rally to a larger park about a mile from downtown Charlottesville, but their request was blocked by a federal judge after the American Civil Liberties Union sued on free-speech grounds.

A car driven by James Alex Fields Jr. mowed down a crowd of counter-protesters during the rally on August 12, one day after white nationalist rally at the University of Virginia turned violent

A car driven by James Alex Fields Jr. mowed down a crowd of counter-protesters during the rally on August 12, one day after white nationalist rally at the University of Virginia turned violent

The car hit multiple people, leaving Heather Heyer, 32, dead. Fields is now facing a murder charge

The car hit multiple people, leaving Heather Heyer, 32, dead. Fields is now facing a murder charge