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| James Alex Fields (mug shot via the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.) |
The Neo-nazi who drove his car into a crowd of people a the Charlottesville rally in 2017 has been found guilty of first-degree murder.
From ABC News:
Suspect James Alex Fields was on trial for the death and injuries he is accused of causing when he drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer.
He was found guilty on all of the charges he was facing, ABC affiliate WSET reports, which included first-degree murder as well as eight other charges relating to injuries and one relating to fleeing the scene of an accident.
Fields’ sentencing will come at a later date, and he faces life in prison.
BREAKING: James Alex Fields Jr., man who drove car into counter-protesters during Charlottesville rally in 2017, convicted of first-degree murder. https://t.co/HQNEBrxMMQ pic.twitter.com/KYNPYUPEYL— ABC News (@ABC) December 7, 2018
Fields’ defense lawyers tried to claim ‘self-defense’ saying he became afraid after the rally, led by white nationalists and neo-nazis turned violent.
Entered into evidence during the trial were text messages Fields sent to his mother leading up to and during the rally. “We’re not the one [sic] who need to be careful,” he texted his mother the day before the event, along with a picture of Adolf Hitler.
The jury also heard a jailhouse conversation between Fields and his mom. When his mother mentioned that Heyer’s mother had lost a daughter due to his actions, he responded, “It doesn’t f*cking matter.”
The 21-year-old still faces 30 federal charges, separate from this trial, relating to hate crimes.
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