Indiana man serving jail time for punching Charlottesville rally counterprotester

IndyStar

This undated photo provided by the Jennings County Sheriff's Department in North Vernon, Ind., shows Dennis L. Mothersbaugh. Authorities have arrested Mothersbaugh on an assault and battery warrant for allegedly punching a man and woman who were demonstrating against last month's white nationalist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jennings County Sheriff Gary Driver says Mothersbaugh, of Vernon, was arrested Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. He is being held in the Jennings County Jail pending extradition to Charlottesville.

An Indiana man who punched a counterprotester in the face during the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., this summer has been sentenced to nearly a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to assault charges.

Dennis L. Mothersbaugh, of North Vernon, was sentenced to 360 days in jail, with 120 days suspended, according to online court records.

He was arrested in Jennings County on Sept. 28 after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of misdemeanor assault and battery.

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Writer and activist Shaun King called on federal and state law enforcement to arrest Mothersbaugh after a video surfaced of a man punching two counterprotesters during the Aug. 12 rally. King asked his followers on Twitter and Facebook to help identify that man and several other white nationalist protesters accused of committing crimes during the rally.

The video shows Mothersbaugh punching an unidentified man who appears to point and yell at him. Moments later, Mothersbaugh punches a woman in the face.

That woman, Kendall Bills, described the attack in a Nov. 3 essay for Time, in which she criticized law enforcement in Charlottesville for not doing enough to ensure that public safety, and later justice, was served.

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.