(Reuters) – A federal jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, yesterday found the organizers of the 2017 “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally liable for injuries sustained by counter-protesters, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said, and media reports said it awarded more than $25 million in damages.
The nine plaintiffs said they suffered physical or emotional trauma at the rally, including four who were struck when a self-described neo-Nazi, James Fields, drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
After a four-week trial, the jury found in favor of the victims on four of six counts but was unable to come to a unanimous verdict on the other two, media reports said.
The rally followed months of protests over the city’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Hundreds of white nationalists traveled to Charlottesville in August 2017, with some marching on the University of Virginia campus carrying torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us!”
Then-President Donald Trump was criticized for initially saying there were “fine people on both sides” after the rally devolved into violent clashes.
President Joe Biden has frequently cited the torch-lit march and Trump’s response as the event that precipitated his decision to mount another run for the White House, after two previous unsuccessful campaigns.
“We are gratified by the outcome in this case in which the jury found that the leaders of the white supremacist movement intended to incite violence in Charlottesville,” Alan Levine, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
The two dozen defendants included Jason Kessler, the main organizer; Richard Spencer, who originated the term “alt-right,” a loose network of groups characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics that includes white supremacists and neo-Nazis; and several white nationalist groups.
The plaintiffs sued for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of both Virginia and U.S. civil rights laws.
Fields, the driver of the car that killed Heyer, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder and hate crimes.
