President Donald Trump sparked controversy when he blamed the violence at the rally on “both sides,” a statement that critics saw as a refusal to condemn racism.Īfter Fields was sentenced, a Department of Justice official condemned his actions. Hundreds of counterprotesters showed up as well. 12, 2017, which drew hundreds of white nationalists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. “I hope he can heal someday and help others heal,” Bro said.Īfter the hearing, Bro said she did not believe Fields’ apology was sincere, but instead was a last-ditch attempt to get a lighter sentence.įields drove from his home in Maumee, Ohio, to attend the “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, said she wanted Fields to spend his life in prison but also hoped he would get the medication he needed and that one day he would change his views and no longer support white supremacy. “So, yeah, you deserve everything that you get.”įields appeared stoic and didn’t look at Parker or any of the victims as they spoke. “You could have done anything else but what you did,” Parker said, her voice breaking as she stared directly at Fields. “You had a choice to leave Charlottesville, but you did not,” said Rosia Parker, a longtime civil rights activist in Charlottesville who said she was standing feet away from Heyer when Heyer was struck by Fields’ car. His comments came after more than a dozen survivors of and witnesses to the attack delivered emotional testimony about the physical and psychological wounds they had received as a result of the events that day. “Every day I think about how things could have gone differently and how I regret my actions,” he said.
President Donald Trump sparked controversy when he blamed the violence at the rally on "both sides," a statement that critics saw as a refusal to condemn racism.ĭuring Fields' state trial, his attorneys focused on his history of mental illness and traumatic childhood.Just before Urbanski announced his sentence, the 22-year-old Fields, accompanied by one of his lawyers, walked to a podium in the courtroom and apologized. The event stirred racial tensions around the country. Later that day, Fields plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring more than two dozen others.
Violent skirmishes between the two sides prompted police to declare an unlawful assembly and to order the groups to disband before the rally could even begin. The event also drew counterprotesters who demonstrated against the white nationalists. "For his purposes, he has one life to give, so this is a largely academic exercise," noted Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University.įields, an avowed white supremacist who kept a photo of Adolf Hitler on his bedside table, drove from his home in Maumee, Ohio, to attend the rally, which drew hundreds of white nationalists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. The state sentence is mainly symbolic given his previous sentence on the federal charges.
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