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In recent years, the United States has witnessed the resurgence of extremist behavior. Emboldened by autocratic and authoritarian tendencies in mainstream politics and the cultural sphere, white nationalists, supremacists and Neo-Nazis have become increasingly comfortable airing their views in the public sphere. The “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville in August 2017 is the most recent example of this trend. Organized and attended by white supremacists and nationalists of various stripes the two-day rally drew national attention. Attendees chanted phrases, such as “White Lives Matter, “You will not replace us” and “Blood and Soil,” which white supremacist and nationalist ideology. The event took a violent turn when a white supremacist, James Alex Field Jr drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Field’s actions led to the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer and 35 individuals were injured. He fled the scene but was later arrested. Filed pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes and was sentenced to life in prison.
The Unite the Right Rally occurred against the backdrop of a sustained effort by Black Life Matters advocates and concerned citizens to remove Confederate monuments throughout the south. The rally also occurred two years after the Charleston church shooting in 2015, where Dylan Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine African Americans. Images from the rally went viral almost immediately. It garnered additional attention when President Trump was asked by media to comment on the views and intent of the rally organizers and counter protestors. In responding to a reporter’s questions, he opined: “There were very fine people on both sides.” This statement was viewed as giving legitimacy to racial extremists and came to represent the Trump’s administration’s approach to racial issues.
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The federal civil trial in Charlottesville will decide the fate of at least two dozen white supremacists involved in planning of the “Unite the Right” rally. The nonprofit group Integrity First for America is bringing the suit. The plaintiffs’ attorney argues the violence in Charlottesville was not accidental and accused the rally organizers of engaging in racially motivated violence. The defendants claim that the rally organizers did not engage in a conspiracy to commit violence
The nine plaintiffs consist of four people harmed by Alex Fields Jr. The evidence in the case is based on over 5.3 terabytes of digital communications from social media chat rooms, and postings, and other material demonstrating racial extremism and premediated planning of violent acts by rally organizers.
"The violence, suffering, and emotional distress that occurred in Charlottesville was a direct, intended, and foreseeable result of defendants' unlawful conspiracy," according to the lawsuit. Based on a 150-year-old law, designed to protect the civil rights of recently freed people, the plaintiffs’ lawyers hope to prove that the rally had a racial and ethnic agenda. The lawsuit claims that most of the discussions and planning for executing the violent actions were done through the chat app called Discord. It claims that organizers used violent imagery to promote the rally on social media. Some of the images included the picture of a man wielding a hammer in the motion of swinging it at the star of David and a poster with the slogan “FIGHT UNTIL THE LAST DROP”
The protestors also carried semiautomatic weapons, shields, torches, and armors. White nationalists defended their actions suggesting the weapons were for their safety in case violence occurred at the rally.
Plaintiffs testified they are still coping with the debilitating repercussions of the rally. Some were unable to return to work or school, experienced depression, required mental health counseling, and experienced shortness of breath, shaking, and other forms of trauma.
The trial has been in progress for three weeks. It began October 28, 2021, and is scheduled to conclude on November 19th. The trial is proceeding at a snail’s pace. Much of this is due to a wide array of factors. Several defendants have failed to comply with court orders. Some defendants, like Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell, the main organizers of the rally, have chosen to represent themselves in the proceedings. The plaintiffs and their witnesses have faced direct questions at the hands of the people they are suing. This has led to a number of uncomfortable and tense exchanges. It has also allowed the courtroom to become a space where extremist views are aired as defendants seek to discredit the suit and present themselves as victims. Jason Kessler, the rally’s organizer and to whom the rally permit was issued, has not taken the stand. He is expected to do so in the coming week. Achieving the full measure of justice by putting extremism on trial is proving to be a challenging prospect.