Tag: white supremacists

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Mass Shootings: Trump Condemns “Racism, Bigotry And White Supremacy”

Donald Trump (screen capture)

Donald Trump denounced white supremacy, racism and bigotry on Monday as he addressed the two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.

From the New York Times:

“In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Mr. Trump said.

But Mr. Trump stopped well short of endorsing the kind of broad gun control measures that activists and Democrats have sought for years, instead falling back on time-honored Republican remedies, calling for stronger action to address mental illness, violence in the media and in video games.

He warned of “the perils of the internet and social media” with no acknowledgment of his use of those platforms to promote his brand of divisive politics.

It remained unclear whether Mr. Trump’s 10-minute remarks after one of the most violent weekends in recent American history could place him in a position to unify the nation when many Americans believe he is personally responsible for inflaming racial division. He took no responsibility for the atmosphere of division, nor did he recognize his own reluctance to warn of the rise of white nationalism until now.

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Most Domestic Terrorism Threats Are Tied To White Supremacists

During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the majority of domestic terrorism arrests have been tied to white supremacy.
FBI Director Christopher Wray

During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the majority of domestic terrorism arrests have been tied to white supremacy.

From The Hill:

”I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence, but it does include other things as well,” Wray said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, referring to cases in fiscal 2019, which began Oct. 1.

The FBI is “aggressively” investigating domestic terrorism and hate crimes, Wray said, noting that the bureau is focused on investigating the violence, not the ideology motivating the attacks.

Wray distinguished between what he termed homegrown violent extremism, wording he said the FBI uses to refer to people in United States who are inspired by global jihadists, and domestic extremism, which Wray described as broader to include racially motivated extremists, anarchists and others.

The number of domestic terrorism arrests are on par with the amount international terrorism cases, according to Wray.

“In terms of number of arrests, we have through the third quarter of this fiscal year had about give or take 100 arrests on the international terrorism side, which includes the homegrown violent extremism,” Wray told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) at the hearing. “We’ve also had just about the same number — again, don’t quote me to the exact digit — on the domestic terrorism side.”

Wray also testified that Russian operatives are still trying to interfere with our elections.

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White Supremacist Gets Life In Prison For Driving Car Into Crowd At Charlottesville Hate Rally

Alex Fields Jr. (mug shot)

NBC News reports that James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd protesting white supremacists at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, has been sentence to life in prison.

James Alex Fields Jr. pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 hate crime charges in March in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty for murdering civil rights activist Heather Heyer and injuring more than 30 others when he intentionally mowed them down on a side street with his car on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 30th charge, which included a possible death sentence, was dropped. U.S. Attorney General William Barr directed and permitted prosecutors not to seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors have said that Fields has shown no remorse for the violence and had a history of racist and anti-Semitic behavior.

According to reports, Fields admired Adolf Hitler keeping a photo of the German dictator next to his bed.

A former classmate of Fields testified during his trial that on a high school trip to a German concentration camp, Fields said aloud, “This is where the magic happened.”

This isn’t the end of legal troubles for Fields, though.

He has also been convicted on state charges, including first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and one hit and run count for injuring dozens of others with his vehicle.

He has a sentencing hearing set on July 15 regarding those charges.

The jury in that case has reportedly recommended life in prison plus 419 years.

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White Supremacist Pleads Guilty To 29 Federal Hate Crimes

James Fields, Jr. has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges for his car attack on a crowd of people on Aug. 12, 2017 in Charlottesville.
James A. Fields Jr. (mugshot)

James A. Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of people killing Heather Heyer during a rally for white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges.

Fields originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea Wednesday. Those crimes carried the possibility of the death penalty.

From CBS19News:

James Fields, Jr. has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges for his car attack on a crowd of people on Aug. 12, 2017 in Charlottesville.

The attack killed Heather Heyer and injured many other people. As a result of the plea, the death penalty was taken off the table.

The courtroom was filled with several people who had been injured in the car attack and Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer. Fields had to answer questions about his competence, and he said he was making the decision of his own free will. He did not express any remorse.

The plea deal had to be approved by U.S. Attorney General William Barr, and prosecutors obtained that approval.

Fields was convicted of first-degree murder and several counts of malicious wounding during his state trial in December. He already faces a life sentence plus 419 years for that conviction.

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Rep. Steve King Loses House Committee Assignments Over ‘White Supremacy’ Comments

Rep. Steve King of Iowa

Rep. Steve King of Iowa (R) has lost his House committee assignments as a result of his recent comments about

From The New York Times:

House Republican leaders removed Representative Steve King of Iowa from the Judiciary and Agriculture Committees on Monday night as party officials scrambled to appear tough on racism and contain damage from comments Mr. King made to The New York Times questioning why white supremacy is considered offensive.

The punishment came on a day when Mr. King was denounced by an array of Republican leaders, though not President Trump. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, suggested Mr. King find “another line of work” and Senator Mitt Romney said he should quit. And the House Republicans, in an attempt to be proactive, stripped him of the committee seats in the face of multiple Democratic resolutions to censure Mr. King that are being introduced this week.

Those measures would force Republicans to take a stand on the House Democratic majority’s attempt to publicly reprimand one of their own.

Mr. King, who has been an ally of President Trump on the border wall and other issues, has a long history of making racist remarks and insults about immigrants, but has not drawn rebukes from Republican leaders until recently.

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White Supremacist Sentenced To Life In Prison For Driving Car Through Charlottesville Crowd

James A Fields Jr.

The Washington Post reports that neo-nazi James A. Fields Jr., convicted of first-degree murder (among other charges) has been sentenced to life in prison and more for his actions.

James A. Fields Jr., an avowed neo-Nazi who rammed his car into a group of counterprotesters at a white-supremacist rally, was sentenced to life in prison by a jury Tuesday after a trial that offered an unsparing view of the physical and emotional ruin he caused in this city with a burst of vehicular rage 16 month ago.

As he had throughout his two-week trial, Fields, 21, sat impassively at the defendant’s table, clad in a powder blue sweater, as the jury delivered its verdict at 12:20 p.m. after about four hours of deliberations that began Monday: life for first-degree murder; 70 years for each of five counts of aggravated malicious wounding; 20 years for each of three counts of malicious wounding; and nine years for leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

His overall sentence: life plus 419 years and $480,000 in fines.

Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in the attack as well as 35 others who were seriously injured.

In Virginia, a trial jury hands out sentences within certain guidelines.

The judge will officially sentence Fields on March 29.  At that time, the judge may reduce, but not increase, the prison time.

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Charlottesville Neo-Nazi Found Guilty Of Murder

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.

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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Congress Condemns White Supremacists – Will Trump Sign It?

(image via Flickr – Robert Thivierge)

From NBC News:

Congress has approved a resolution condemning white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other hate groups following a white-nationalist rally in Virginia that descended into deadly violence.

The resolution recognizes Heather Heyer, who was killed Aug. 12, and 19 other people who were injured after a car allegedly driven by a neo-Nazi slammed into a crowd of demonstrators protesting the rally in Charlottesville. It describes Heyer’s death as a “domestic terrorist attack” and acknowledges two Virginia state troopers who died in a helicopter crash while monitoring the protests.

Six senators from both parties, led by both of Virginia’s Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, introduced the measure, which the Senate approved unanimously Monday night. The House approved the joint resolution Tuesday by unanimous consent.

The measure, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, urges the Trump administration to speak out against hate groups that espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and white supremacy. It also calls on the Justice Department and other federal agencies to “use all resources available” to improve data collection on hate crimes and “address the growing prevalence of those hate groups in the United States.”

I’ll be fascinated to see how Trump, who had dodged many opportunities to denounce these hate groups in the past, will handle this.

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Boston Hate Rally Met With Tens Of Thousands Of Counter-Protesters

From CNN:

Thousands of counterdemonstrators marched Saturday in downtown Boston in response to a self-described free speech rally that had sparked concerns of possible violence.

The largely peaceful march and rally came one week after racially motivated protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly.

Amid a heavy police presence, men, women and children from diverse backgrounds showed up Saturday morning to march from the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury to Boston Common, the nation’s oldest park.

Some carried signs with messages such as “No Trump. No KKK. No racist USA” and “Americans against hate.” At times, they chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, white supremacy has got to go” and “Black lives matter.”

Police maintained a buffer zone between marchers and rally participants — averting major incidents except for occasional clashes and shouting matches between the counterprotesters and supporters of President Donald Trump.