A white supremacist who was convicted of killing a woman at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, has been sentenced to life in prison.
James Alex Fields Jr., apologized to the court before he was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. Judge Michael F. Urbanski on Friday. Fields pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes back in March as part of his agreement with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
Fields was present at the August 2017 demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, joining white nationalists and neo-nazis who had organized opposition to the city's decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. At one point during a day of violent clashes between protesters, Fields drove his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer, and injuring dozens of others.
"Fields rapidly accelerated, through a stop sign and across a raised pedestrian mall, and drove directly into the crowd. Fields's vehicle stopped only when it struck another vehicle near the intersection of Fourth and Water Streets. Fields then rapidly reversed his car and fled the scene," according to a federal indictment.
Susan Bro, Heather's mother, read a victim impact statement during Fields' sentencing hearing on Friday.
"I'd like to see him find meds to help his mind to heal. I don't know if Mr. Fields can ever be trusted in society. I hope he can heal someday and help others heal too," she said.
According to the indictment, Fields was active on social media in the days before the rally on August 12, 2017, expressing his belief that "white people are superior to other races and peoples; expressed support of the social and racial policies of Adolf Hitler and Nazi-era Germany, including the Holocaust; and espoused violence against African Americans, Jewish people, and members of other racial, ethnic and religious groups he perceived to be non-white."
When Fields received a text from a family member in the days before the rally, telling him to be careful, he wrote back saying that "We're not the ones who need to be careful," and attached a photo of Hitler, the indictment said.
Fields has also been convicted in state court of first-degree murder and other charges and is expected to be sentenced in that case on July 15.