Trial set to begin for man charged in 2017 Charlottesville torch rally at the University of Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A trial is set to begin for a man charged with using flaming torches to intimidate counterprotesters during a gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, seven years ago. The trial is expected to begin Tuesday for 29-year-old Jacob Joseph Dix, of Clarksville, Ohio. It’s the first test of a 2002 law that makes it a felony to burn something to intimidate and cause fear of injury or death. Indictments unsealed last year showed 11 people had been charged under the law, but prosecutors have not said whether additional defendants were also charged. So far, five have pleaded guilty. Dix pleaded not guilty and is the first to go on trial.