Jury to hear closing arguments in 'Unite the Right' trial

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Jurors successful the Unite the Right civilian proceedings are acceptable to perceive closing arguments Thursday successful a civilian suit that seeks to clasp achromatic nationalists accountable for the unit that erupted successful Charlottesville successful 2017.

Lawyers for 9 radical who were physically injured oregon near emotionally scarred during 2 days of chaos allege that the defendants conspired to perpetrate racially motivated violence. Attorneys for the achromatic nationalists accidental determination was nary conspiracy and their usage of radical epithets and blustery speech successful chat rooms earlier the rally is protected by the First Amendment.

Hundreds of achromatic nationalists descended connected Charlottesville connected Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, 2017, ostensibly to protestation the city's plans to region a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

During a march connected the University of Virginia campus, achromatic nationalists surrounded counterprotesters and threw burning tiki torches astatine them. The pursuing day, an avowed admirer of Adolf Hitler rammed his car into a assemblage of counterprotesters, sidesplitting 1 pistillate and injuring dozens more.

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The operator of the car, James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, is serving life successful prison for execution and hatred crimes and mislaid an entreaty of his conviction this week. Fields is 1 of 24 individuals and organizations named arsenic defendants successful the lawsuit.

The proceedings has featured emotional testimony from radical who were struck by Fields’ car oregon witnessed the attack, arsenic good arsenic plaintiffs who were subjected to racist taunts oregon beaten.

During their testimony, immoderate of the defendants utilized radical epithets and proudly espoused their views of achromatic supremacy. They besides blamed each different and anti-fascist protesters known arsenic antifa for the violence.

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The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a judgement that the defendants violated the plaintiffs’ law rights. It is being funded by Integrity First for America, a nonprofit civilian rights organization.

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