Driver in deadly car attack at Charlottesville white nationalist rally pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

James Alex Fields was at the Unite the Right rally when he killed anti-racism activist Heather Heyer, 32.</s>An Ohio man pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal hate crimes killing one and injuring 28 others when he drove his car into a crowd during a 2017 white nationalist rally.

He admitted he intended to kill others, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

James Alex Fields Jr., originally from Boone County, Kentucky, was earlier convicted on state murder charges in the deadly car attack at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

More: Charlottesville: Life has been a 'living nightmare' since James Alex Fields struck her

On Wednesday, the 21-year-old Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.

The charges include one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, and 28 counts of hate crime acts that caused bodily injury and involved an attempt to kill other people within the crowd, according to the Department of Justice.

Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions,” Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement, adding, "These hate crimes are also acts of domestic terrorism."

In a statement of facts agreed to and signed by Fields, he admitted he intended to kill other victims he struck with his car.

Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others assembled to protest against the white nationalists.

A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into the crowd of people.

The Department of Justice said that before the attack, Fields admitted to using social media to espouse policies from Nazi-era Germany and to support violence against African-Americans, Jewish people and groups "he perceived to be non-white."

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement that "everyone across the country felt the impact" of the violence in Charlottesville.

"This guilty plea underscores that we won’t stand for hate and violence in our communities," Wray said. "Together with our law enforcement and community partners, we’ll continue to aggressively investigate hate crimes, domestic terrorism and civil rights violations.”</s>CHARLOTTESVILLE — An avowed neo-Nazi who killed one woman and injured 35 others when he plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters at an infamous white supremacist rally here pleaded guilty to hate crimes in federal court Wednesday.

James Alex Fields Jr., 25, of Ohio, was convicted on 29 of 30 counts as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacy across the country.

Late last year, Fields convicted in state court and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and other counts for killing Heather D. Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

Pleading guilty to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of fear for his safety and confusion. They said he immediately regretted his actions.

Fields entered the courtroom at the U.S. District courthouse in a gray and white striped jumpsuit and handcuffs, but spoke little during the hearing. He stood for most of the time.

Attorney General William Barr, who approved the plea deal, issued a statement after the hearing. The charges included one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Heyer and 28 counts of hate crime acts that caused injury and involved an attempt to kill other people in the crowd. Each of the 29 counts carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions, Barr said in the statement. “Prosecuting hate crimes is a priority for me as Attorney General.”

[Fields sentenced to life in prison in fatal Charlottesville car attack]

The violence in 2017 and President Trump’s comments afterward that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the Charlottesville rally sparked intense criticism and a fresh focus on the renewed forces of ethno-nationalism.

The events began on Aug. 11 when far-right groups mounted a torchlight march through the University of Virginia campus shouting “Jews will not replace us!” Fields was already on his way to Charlottesville, arriving the next day to protest the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue with hundreds of others from the far right.

The event generated national media attention after rallygoers carrying Nazi flags and shouting racial epithets clashed violently with counterprotesters. Police eventually dispersed the groups.

A short-time later, Fields was seen driving his gray Dodge Charger up to a group of counterprotesters on a narrow street. He slowly backed up and then accelerated down a hill directly into the group.

Harrowing video, which was played at Fields’ trial, shows protesters tumbling and screaming as the muscle car slams into the group. Fields then reverses at a high rate of speed, hitting and dragging others. Someone repeatedly says: “Oh god, Oh god.”

Heyer was killed, while others were seriously wounded. One woman who limped to the stand at Fields’ state trial testified she had five surgeries and was expecting a sixth. Another described a broken pelvis and a third how he pushed his fiance out of the way before he was hit by Fields’ car.

Fields, who a mental health expert testified suffered psychiatric issues from childhood and worked as a security guard, did not deny running into the crowd, but his attorneys argued that he acted to protect himself.

But prosecutors forcefully countered that argument and the jury at the six-day trial ultimately rejected it.

Jurors were shown a deleted Instagram post by Fields shared three months before that crash that featured a car running into a group of people. A caption read: “You Have the Right to Protest, But I’m Late for Work.”

A state prosecutor also showed a blown-up image of Fields in his car to counter the idea that he was scared when he acted.

“This is not the face of someone who is scared,” said Senior-Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina-Alice Antony. “This is the face of anger, of hatred. It’s the face of malice.”

After Fields was convicted on 10 counts, Susan Bro, Heyer’s mother said she was still having trouble grappling with the loss of her daughter.

“So many emotions, so many reactions, it’s really still hard to process,” she said, adding: “So we move forward. We still have social justice work to do. . . . The things Heather died for, I’m not seeing a lot of progress in the last year and a half.”

Man arrested in fatal stabbing at U-Md. will not face federal hate-crime charges

Hateful acts may be rising, but will court cases follow?

Former Portsmouth police chief says she was forced out for confronting racism

Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news</s>James Alex Fields Jr. pled guilty to 29 of 30 charges to avoid the death penalty

The driver who killed one woman and injured 35 others after ramming his car into protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 has pled guilty to federal hate crime charges, according to new reporting from The Washington Post.

James Alex Fields Jr. had previously pled not guilty, but changed to a guilty plea at a federal court appearance on Wednesday. He was convicted on 29 of 30 counts in return for prosecutors agreeing not to seek the death penalty during sentencing. The deal was approved by Attorney General William Barr, the Post reported.

Fields had already been convicted last December in state court on charges of first degree murder (among others) after killing of Heather D. Heyer and injuring over 30 at Charlottesville’s Unite The Right rally. Heyer and the other victims were protesting the rally, which advocated white supremacist ideals, when Fields drove his car through the crowd. The state jury recommended life in prison plus 419 years as punishment, but Fields could still have received the death penalty had he not accepted the deal in federal court.

The Post also noted how Fields’ guilty plea to hate crimes charges stands in stark contrast to his state trial, where his defense attorneys argued that he drove into the crowd out of confusion and fear for his own safety, and that he regretted his actions immediately after the attack.

According to NBC News, the 30th charge against Fields was dropped as part of the deal for the potential death sentence it carried. It accused Fields of, per NBC, “racially motivated violent interference with a federally protected activity” under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the protesters that Fields drove through were on public streets and sidewalks). If convicted, Fields would have been subject to death.

Fields has been ordered to return to federal court on July 3 for his sentencing hearing. His state sentencing will be formally determined by a judge on July 15.

Attorney General Barr issued a statement (per NBC News) condemning the attack as an “act of domestic terrorism.” He also connected Fields’ crimes with the rise in hate and violent attacks around the globe.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions.”</s>A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.</s>Neo-Nazi and self-professed white supremacist James Alex Fields has pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 federal hate crimes in a deal approved by Attorney General William Barr. As part of the plea, prosecutors agreed not to ask for the death penalty.

James Alex Fields Jr., 25, of Ohio, was convicted on 29 of 30 counts as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacy across the country.

The deal was approved by new Attorney General William Barr, prosecutors said. Fields entered the courtroom in a gray and white jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Fields was convicted in state court and sentenced to life in prison in December for first-degree murder and other counts for killing Heather D. Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

Pleading guilty to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of fear for his safety and confusion. They said he immediately regretted his actions.</s>CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - An avowed neo-Nazi who killed one woman and injured 35 other people when he plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters at an infamous rally here pleaded guilty to hate crimes in federal court Wednesday.

James Alex Fields Jr., 21, of Ohio admitted guilt to 29 of 30 counts in a federal indictment as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacism in the United States. Fields is set to be sentenced July 3.

Late last year, Fields was convicted in state court of first-degree murder and other charges for killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017. The jury in that case recommended a life sentence, and a state judge is scheduled to formally impose it in mid-July.

Admitting guilt to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of confusion and fear for his safety. They said he immediately regretted his actions.

On Wednesday, Fields, who has grown a bushy beard in the months since his state trial, entered a federal courtroom here in a gray-and-white-striped prisoner's jumpsuit and handcuffs. He spoke only to answer a judge's questions and displayed no emotion during the hourlong hearing.

Susan Bro, Heyer's mother, said after the hearing she was satisfied with the result.

"There's no point in killing him. It would not bring back Heather," Bro said.

It's a relief to think we don't have to go through another trial. It was exhausting the first time. I can get on with my life and the other victims can, too."

Thomas Cullen, U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said he was gratified that Fields finally had to admit he was motivated by hate, calling the crime "an indelible mark on the city of Charlottesville, our state and our country."

Fields pleaded guilty to one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Heyer and 28 counts of hate crimes that caused injury and involved an attempt to kill other people in the crowd. Each of the 29 counts carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Attorney General William Barr approved the deal.

The violence in 2017 and President Donald Trump's assertion afterward that there were "very fine people" on both sides of the Charlottesville rally sparked intense criticism and a fresh focus on the renewed forces of ethno-nationalism.

The events began on Aug. 11 when far-right groups mounted a torchlight march through the University of Virginia campus shouting racist and anti-Semitic slogans, including, "Jews will not replace us!" Fields was already on his way to Charlottesville, arriving the next day for a rally that was nominally held to protest the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. The event, involving hundreds of marchers, generated national media attention after rallygoers carrying Nazi flags and shouting racial epithets clashed violently with counterprotesters. Police eventually dispersed the groups.

A short-time later, Fields was seen driving his gray Dodge Charger up to a group of counterprotesters on a narrow street. He slowly backed up and then accelerated down a hill directly into the group.

Video, which was played at Fields' state trial, shows protesters tumbling and screaming as the car slams into them. Fields then reverses at a high rate of speed, hitting and dragging others. Someone repeatedly yelled: "Oh god! Oh god!"

Heyer was killed, while others were seriously wounded. One woman who limped to the stand at Fields' state trial testified she had five surgeries and was expecting a sixth. Another described a broken pelvis and a third how he pushed his fiance out of the way before he was hit by Fields' car.

Fields, who a mental health expert testified suffered psychiatric issues from childhood and worked as a security guard, did not deny running into the crowd, but his attorneys argued that he acted to protect himself.

But prosecutors forcefully countered that argument and the jury at the six-day trial ultimately rejected it.

Jurors were shown a deleted Instagram post by Fields shared three months before that crash that featured a car running into a group of people. A caption read: "You Have the Right to Protest, But I'm Late for Work."

A state prosecutor also showed a blown-up image of Fields in his car to counter the idea that he was scared when he acted.

"This is not the face of someone who is scared," said a state prosecutor said at the time. "This is the face of anger, of hatred. It's the face of malice."

As part of the plea agreement in federal court, prosecutors said Fields admitted that before the rally, he had used social media to "express and promote white supremacist views," including admiration for the racial-purity doctrine of Adolf Hitler. They said he used those accounts to "espouse violence against African-Americans, Jewish people, and members of other racial, ethnic and religious groups he perceived to be nonwhite."

After Wednesday's federal court hearing, Bro was asked whether Heyer's killing had raised the community's consciousness about racial disparities.

"Sadly, it took a white girl dying before anyone paid attention to civil rights around here," she told reporters. "I wish we had woken up sooner."

But Bro did describe one moment of healing. When asked whether she had ever come in contact with Fields' mother, Bro said she had seen her just once, at the state trial.

“She looked at me, and I looked at her,” Bro said. "I said, ‘I’m sorry.’ She said, ‘I’m sorry.’ "</s>The man convicted of murder in the deadly car attack on counterprotesters at the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges Wednesday in order to dodge a possible death penalty.

James Alex Fields Jr., 21, from Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 charges against him. The 30th charge, which included a possible death sentence, was dropped. He’s been ordered to return to court on July 3 to be sentenced.

The single charge in Count 30 was brought under a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It had accused Fields of racially motivated violent interference with a federally protected activity — counterprotesters using the public streets and sidewalks of Charlottesville — and carried a possible death penalty.

Fields was convicted in state court in December for the death of anti-racism activist Heather Heyer, 32, and for injuring dozens more during the infamous United The Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

“The defendant in this case has pled guilty to 29 hate crimes which he committed by driving his car into a crowd of protesters,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. “These hate crimes are also acts of domestic terrorism.”

Barr cited the recent mosque massacre in New Zealand that left 50 dead in saying the nation must have zero tolerance for racial and religious bias.

“In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion, or association with people of other races and religions,” according to Barr.

Before Wednesday in this separate federal prosecution, Fields had pleaded not guilty to 30 hate crime charges. One of those charges had carried a possible death sentence.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Thomas Cullen said he hopes this courtroom deal will spare survivors of reliving that day.

“Although the defendant’s guilty plea cannot undo the pain, suffering, and loss that he caused, it is my hope that it will enable these victims and our community to continue the healing process,” Cullen said.

Hundreds of white nationalists converged on Charlottesville just before the start of the fall term to protest to famed university’s planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

About 30 more people were hurt in Fields’ car attack.

Jurors in his state case found him guilty of murder and recommended he be sentenced to life in prison, plus 419 years.Sentencing in that case is scheduled for July 15.

President Donald Trump blamed the violence at the rally on “both sides” and critics of his viewed that as a refusal to condemn racism.</s>The Latest: Man pleads guilty to hate crimes in car attack

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on a man pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges in a deadly car attack at white nationalist rally in Virginia(all times local):

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack on counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia is due in federal court for a change-of-plea hearing.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, was convicted in state court in December in the death of anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and for injuring dozens more.

Fields separately pleaded not guilty to 30 federal hate crime charges in July. An online court docket says Fields is scheduled to appear in federal court in Charlottesville on Wednesday for a change-of-plea hearing.

One of the charges carries the death penalty, although prosecutors have not announced whether they planned to seek that punishment.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen declined to comment. Lawyers for Fields did not respond to requests for comment.</s>Stickers and hand-written chalk messages line the walls Aug 10, 2018, outside the building where Heather Heyer was killed by a speeding vehicle driven by a white supremacist as she was protesting the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA - Self-described neo-Nazi James Fields, who was convicted of killing Ms Heather Heyer by ramming his car into a crowd protesting against a white supremacist rally in a Virginia college town in 2017, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (March 27) in his federal hate crimes case.

Fields, 21, pleaded guilty to 28 federal counts of hate crime acts causing bodily injury and involving an attempt to kill, and one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Ms Heyer during a hearing in United States District Court in Charlottesville.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Under the plea agreement, US prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

"In the aftermath of the mass murder in New Zealand earlier this month, we are reminded that a diverse and pluralistic community such as ours can have zero tolerance for violence on the basis of race, religion or association with people of other races and religions," US Attorney-General William Barr said in a statement released by the Department of Justice.

Fields already faces a sentence of life in prison after being found guilty in state court of Ms Heyer's murder and for injuring 19 in Charlottesville, which is home to the University of Virginia, in August 2017.

Fields, who wore a striped, grey prison uniform and sported a full beard and glasses, told the judge he has been treated for anxiety and depression since he was six years old.

Ms Heyer's mother Susan Bro was in the courtroom along with many of the victims, and they stood and watched while US marshals handcuffed Fields and led him out of the courtroom.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 3.

In December, a Virginia jury recommended that Fields spend the rest of his life in prison after finding him guilty of first-degree murder and nine other crimes for killing Ms Heyer, 32, and injuring 19 people after the "Unite the Right" gathering on Aug 12, 2017.

Fields, a resident of Maumee, Ohio, was photographed hours before the attack carrying a shield with the emblem of a far-right hate group. He has identified himself as a neo-Nazi.

Fields' attorneys never disputed that he accelerated his Dodge Charger into a group of counter-protesters at the rally, sending bodies flying. The lawyers suggested Fields felt intimidated and acted to protect himself.

The event proved a critical moment in the rise of the "alt-right", a loose alignment of fringe groups centred on white nationalism and emboldened by President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory.

Mr Trump was criticised from the left and right for initially saying there were "fine people on both sides" of a dispute between neo-Nazis and their opponents. Subsequent alt-right gatherings failed to draw the crowds of size that assembled in Charlottesville.
James Alex Fields, who drove his car into a crowd of protestors at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, killing one person and injuring 28 others, pleads guilty to 29 federal hate crimes. He will be sentenced on July 3, 2019.