The jury in a civil trial on Tuesday found that the defendants, who included some of the most prominent figures from the right wing – Jason Kessler, Matthew Heimbach, Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell – are responsible for a state conspiracy allegation and other claims regarding Unite the Right- meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“The defendants seemed to want to argue that their speech was protected by the rights to the First Amendment, and I would say that speech is protected. Action from that speech is not protected,” said Susan Bro, Heyer’s mother. “So when you speak and you, yourself and others act on that speech, it is no longer protected.”
Half of the criminal convictions were against Fields. In addition, the jury awarded a fine of $ 700,000 each to Kessler, Spencer and Cantwell, and $ 500,000 to Heimbach.
The events around the 11th-12th. August 2017 saw white nationalists and supremacists march through the Charlottesville and University of Virginia campuses, shouting, “Jews will not replace us,” “You will not replace us,” and “Blood and land,” a phrase. evokes Nazi philosophy of ethnic identity.
The violence – which enveloped the demonstration to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee – reached a crescendo as Fields, protesting the removal of the statue, drove his car through the crowd, wounding dozens and killing Heyer.
Bro said she wanted people to “stop putting Heather on a pedestal.”
“She was a normal 32-year-old eager woman,” Bro told CNN’s John Berman. “She had rough edges, like everyone else, and she was a random killer in a mass car attack. She happened to be the one who took the greatest force.”
“So what I want you to take away from that is, get up and do the right thing. You do not know what kind of influence it will have,” Bro said.
The jury’s decision “talks a lot about trying to fix things” in her daughter’s murder, Bro said.
“This is the first, and God knows, I hope, the only murder in my life,” she said. “I do not know that you will ever feel complete justice. But I do not know what else could be done.”
The plaintiffs included city residents and counter-protesters who were injured in the violence, and Bro said she was proud of them, “for not straining under pressure when questioned by the defendants.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said Tuesday that they were “excited” about the verdict.
“Today’s judgment sends a loud and clear message that facts matter, law matters and that the laws of this country will not tolerate the use of violence to deprive racial and religious minorities of the fundamental right we all share to live free and equal. citizens, “plaintiffs’ attorneys Robert Kaplan and Karen Dunn said Tuesday.
Despite the grand jury award, there is the question of whether the plaintiffs will see much of that money. While Fields is serving several life sentences, some of the other defendants – individuals and white supremacy organizations – have indicated that they are financially stressed.
“The defendants in the case are in distress, none of them have any money,” said attorney Joshua Smith, who represented three defendants. “I do not know how any of the plaintiffs will get anything for any of this.”
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