The violence turned the Virginia city into another battleground in America’s culture wars and highlighted growing polarization. It was also an event that empowered White supremacists and nationalists to demonstrate their beliefs in public rather than just online.
The jury said Tuesday it could not reach a verdict on two federal conspiracy claims but it reached verdicts on the other claims.
The first federal conspiracy claim was the most prominent against the defendants because it alleged the defendants conspired to commit racially motivated violence while the second alleged the defendants had knowledge of a conspiracy and failed to prevent it.
“We are thrilled that the jury has delivered a verdict in favor of our plaintiffs, finally giving them the justice they deserve after the horrific weekend of violence and intimidation in August 2017,” plaintiffs’ attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Karen Dunn said.
“Today’s verdict sends a loud and clear message that facts matter, the law matters, and that the laws of this this country will not tolerate the use of violence to deprive racial and religious minorities of the basic right we all share to live as free and equal citizens.”
One defense attorney called it a win.
“It’s a politically charged situation. It’s going to be hard to get 11 people to agree,” said attorney Joshua Smith who represented three defendants. “I consider a hung jury to be a win, considering a disparity of resources.”
The events surrounding August 11-12, 2017, saw White nationalists and supremacists marching through Charlottesville and the University of Virginia campus chanting, “Jews will not replace us,” “You will not replace us” and “Blood and soil,” a phrase evoking Nazi philosophy on ethnic identity.
The violence — which enveloped the rally to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee — reached a crescendo when Fields, who was protesting the statue’s removal, sped his car through a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring…
Source : cnn
