A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group. </s> CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The man convicted of federal hate crimes in Charlottesville will learn his sentence in a federal court Friday.

James Fields Jr. previously pleaded guilty to plowing his car into a crowd of protesters during the 2017 Unite the Right rally.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty against Fields.

The prosecution is looking to have him spend life in prison.

10 News' Magdala Louissant will be at that hearing in Charlottesville. </s> The neo-Nazi fanatic who rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters at a white supremacist rally in Virginia in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced after pleading guilty in March to federal hate crime charges in the Aug. 12, 2017, Charlottesville attack that left 32-year-old Heather Heyer dead and more than two dozen others injured.

Fields is slated to be sentenced next month on state charges. </s> James Alex Fields Jr. pled guilty to 29 of 30 charges to avoid the death penalty

The driver who killed one woman and injured 35 others after ramming his car into protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 has pled guilty to federal hate crime charges, according to new reporting from The Washington Post.

James Alex Fields Jr. had previously pled not guilty, but changed to a guilty plea at a federal court appearance on Wednesday. He was convicted on 29 of 30 counts in return for prosecutors agreeing not to seek the death penalty during sentencing. The deal was approved by Attorney General William Barr, the Post reported.

Fields had already been convicted last December in state court on charges of first degree murder (among others) after killing of Heather D. Heyer and injuring over 30 at Charlottesville’s Unite The Right rally. Heyer and the other victims were protesting the rally, which advocated white supremacist ideals, when Fields drove his car through the crowd. The state jury recommended life in prison plus 419 years as punishment, but Fields could still have received the death penalty had he not accepted the deal in federal court.

The Post also noted how Fields’ guilty plea to hate crimes charges stands in stark contrast to his state trial, where his defense attorneys argued that he drove into the crowd out of confusion and fear for his own safety, and that he regretted his actions immediately after the attack.

According to NBC News, the 30th charge against Fields was dropped as part of the deal for the potential death sentence it carried. It accused Fields of, per NBC, “racially motivated violent interference with a federally protected activity” under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the protesters that Fields drove through were on public streets and sidewalks). If convicted, Fields would have been subject to death.

Fields has been ordered to return to federal court on July 3 for his sentencing hearing. His state sentencing will be formally determined by a judge on July 15.

Attorney General Barr issued a statement (per NBC News) condemning the attack as an “act of domestic terrorism.” He also connected Fields’ crimes with the rise in hate and violent attacks around the globe.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions.” </s> The Latest: Man pleads guilty to hate crimes in car attack

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on a man pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges in a deadly car attack at white nationalist rally in Virginia(all times local):

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack on counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia is due in federal court for a change-of-plea hearing.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, was convicted in state court in December in the death of anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and for injuring dozens more.

Fields separately pleaded not guilty to 30 federal hate crime charges in July. An online court docket says Fields is scheduled to appear in federal court in Charlottesville on Wednesday for a change-of-plea hearing.

One of the charges carries the death penalty, although prosecutors have not announced whether they planned to seek that punishment.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen declined to comment. Lawyers for Fields did not respond to requests for comment. </s> The man convicted of murder in the deadly car attack on counterprotesters at the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges Wednesday in order to dodge a possible death penalty.

James Alex Fields Jr., 21, from Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 charges against him. The 30th charge, which included a possible death sentence, was dropped. He’s been ordered to return to court on July 3 to be sentenced.

The single charge in Count 30 was brought under a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It had accused Fields of racially motivated violent interference with a federally protected activity — counterprotesters using the public streets and sidewalks of Charlottesville — and carried a possible death penalty.

Fields was convicted in state court in December for the death of anti-racism activist Heather Heyer, 32, and for injuring dozens more during the infamous United The Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

“The defendant in this case has pled guilty to 29 hate crimes which he committed by driving his car into a crowd of protesters,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. “These hate crimes are also acts of domestic terrorism.”

Barr cited the recent mosque massacre in New Zealand that left 50 dead in saying the nation must have zero tolerance for racial and religious bias.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions,” according to Barr.

Before Wednesday in this separate federal prosecution, Fields had pleaded not guilty to 30 hate crime charges. One of those charges had carried a possible death sentence.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Thomas Cullen said he hopes this courtroom deal will spare survivors of reliving that day.

“Although the defendant’s guilty plea cannot undo the pain, suffering, and loss that he caused, it is my hope that it will enable these victims and our community to continue the healing process,” Cullen said.

Hundreds of white nationalists converged on Charlottesville just before the start of the fall term to protest to famed university’s planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

About 30 more people were hurt in Fields’ car attack.

Jurors in his state case found him guilty of murder and recommended he be sentenced to life in prison, plus 419 years.Sentencing in that case is scheduled for July 15.

President Donald Trump blamed the violence at the rally on “both sides” and critics of his viewed that as a refusal to condemn racism. </s> An Ohio man pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal hate crimes killing one and injuring 28 others when he drove his car into a crowd during a 2017 white nationalist rally.

He admitted he intended to kill others, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

James Alex Fields Jr., originally from Boone County, Kentucky, was earlier convicted on state murder charges in the deadly car attack at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

More: Charlottesville: Life has been a 'living nightmare' since James Alex Fields struck her

On Wednesday, the 21-year-old Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.

The charges include one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, and 28 counts of hate crime acts that caused bodily injury and involved an attempt to kill other people within the crowd, according to the Department of Justice.

Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions,” Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement, adding, "These hate crimes are also acts of domestic terrorism."

In a statement of facts agreed to and signed by Fields, he admitted he intended to kill other victims he struck with his car.

Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others assembled to protest against the white nationalists.

A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into the crowd of people.

The Department of Justice said that before the attack, Fields admitted to using social media to espouse policies from Nazi-era Germany and to support violence against African-Americans, Jewish people and groups "he perceived to be non-white."

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement that "everyone across the country felt the impact" of the violence in Charlottesville.

"This guilty plea underscores that we won’t stand for hate and violence in our communities," Wray said. "Together with our law enforcement and community partners, we’ll continue to aggressively investigate hate crimes, domestic terrorism and civil rights violations.” </s> Neo-Nazi and self-professed white supremacist James Alex Fields has pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 federal hate crimes in a deal approved by Attorney General William Barr. As part of the plea, prosecutors agreed not to ask for the death penalty.

James Alex Fields Jr., 25, of Ohio, was convicted on 29 of 30 counts as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacy across the country.

The deal was approved by new Attorney General William Barr, prosecutors said. Fields entered the courtroom in a gray and white jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Fields was convicted in state court and sentenced to life in prison in December for first-degree murder and other counts for killing Heather D. Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

Pleading guilty to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of fear for his safety and confusion. They said he immediately regretted his actions. </s> CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — An avowed white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters during a white nationalist rally in Virginia was sentenced to life in prison Friday on hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, had pleaded guilty in March to the 2017 attack that killed one person and injured more than two dozen others. In exchange, prosecutors dropped their request for the death penalty. His attorneys asked for a sentence less than life. He will be sentenced next month on separate state charges.

Before the judge handed down his sentence, Fields, accompanied by one of his lawyers, walked to a podium in the courtroom and spoke.

“I apologize for the hurt and loss I’ve caused,” he said, later adding, “Every day I think about how things could have gone differently and how I regret my actions. I’m sorry.”

Fields’ comment came after more than a dozen survivors of and witnesses to the attack delivered emotional testimony about the physical and psychological wounds they had received as a result of the events that day.

The “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, 2017, drew hundreds of white nationalists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The case stirred racial tensions around the country.

Fields was charged with 29 hate crime counts and one count of “racially motivated violent interference.” He pleaded guilty to 29 of the counts.

In a sentencing memo filed in court last week, Fields’ lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski to consider a sentence of “less than life.”

“No amount of punishment imposed on James can repair the damage he caused to dozens of innocent people. But this Court should find that retribution has limits,” his attorneys wrote.

Fields faces sentencing in state court on July 15. A jury has recommended life plus 419 years.

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James A. Fields Jr. is sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to 29 hate crimes for driving his car into a crowd of protestors, killing one and injuring 28, at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.