Thomas Walter Gillen Pleads Guilty to Riot Conspiracy in Charlottesville

Thomas Walter Gillen, a 25-year-old Redondo Beach, California man and member of the white-supremacist group Rise Above Movement (RAM), pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville, Virginia to one count of conspiracy to riot. The charge stems from his role in orchestrating and carrying out violent attacks during the August 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville and a series of earlier political rallies in California, where Gillen and fellow extremists targeted anti-fascist and left-wing demonstrators.

Gillen admitted in court filings that he and other RAM members did not attend the rallies to peacefully protest but to incite and commit acts of violence. The group, which openly identified as ‘alt-right’ and ‘nationalist,’ trained in mixed martial arts and street-fighting techniques, often posting videos of physical drills and brawls online. These videos, coupled with anti-Semitic and white-supremacist propaganda, were used to recruit members and glorify their militant brand of political activism.

On March 25, 2017, Gillen joined RAM members at a Huntington Beach, California rally where they pursued and assaulted counter-protesters. The group celebrated media coverage of the beatings, repurposing footage to attract new recruits. Weeks later, on April 15, 2017, Gillen was captured on video attacking a protester during a rally in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Park in Berkeley, California. In the footage, he punches a man repeatedly and stomps on him after he falls. Gillen later texted a friend the video with the message: ’20 seconds in I’m in the grey shirt turning up a commie.’

According to the Department of Justice, RAM operated as a combat-ready, militant organization with the sole intent of provoking violence at political events. Gillen’s co-defendants—Benjamin Drake Daley, Michael Paul Miselis, and Cole Evan White—were indicted alongside him in October 2018 on federal riot charges. White pleaded guilty on November 30, 2018 to the same conspiracy charge. All are being prosecuted under the federal riots statute, which criminalizes traveling across state lines to incite violence at public demonstrations.

U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen condemned the actions of Gillen and his associates, stating, ‘The First Amendment protects an individual’s or organization’s right to speak, assemble, and espouse political views, but it does not license insensate acts of violence committed under the guise of First Amendment expression.’ Cullen emphasized that Gillen’s guilty plea confirms the group’s intent was never free speech, but assault under the banner of ideology.

FBI Richmond Division Special Agent in Charge David Archey warned that such violence erodes public trust and fractures communities. ‘When the defendant conspired to commit violent acts at the Charlottesville rally, he damaged an entire community,’ Archey said. The FBI and Virginia State Police, alongside federal prosecutors, continue to pursue similar cases nationwide, signaling a hard line against domestic extremist networks using political rallies as cover for organized violence.