“I would like to see him grow from a white supremacist into someone who can help bring others away from white supremacy,” she told the court. Susan Bro, Heather's mother, said in a victim statement that “I would like to see (Fields) find meds that help heal his mind.” Mark Heyer, Heather's father, spoke directly to the court and said: "I want to publicly forgive him. It is not me, it is Christ in me."
Many in the courtroom sobbed as images of Fields' victims and their injuries were shown. “She is the enemy,” Fields insisted before cursing at his mother and telling her to stop questioning him. “Nobody is the enemy,” his mother replied. Watch Video: Video shows car plow into Charlottesville crowd In another call, Fields describes Heyer as "a communist,” according to prosecutors. The statement provoked audible gasps from a packed courtroom crowd that included dozens of victims and Heyer's parents.Īt one point, prosecutors played recordings of jailhouse phone calls between Fields and his mother in 2018, just over a year after the attack, in which he told her, "I hope I can get that insanity thing.” District Judge Michael Urbanski that the avowed white supremacist was “like a kid at Disney World” during a high school trip to a German concentration camp, as a classmate told the FBI.įBI Special Agent Wade Douthit read grand jury testimony from one of Fields' high school classmates who said he appeared happy when touring the Dachau camp and remarked, “This is where the magic happened.” 12, 2017 attack, along with samples of Fields' social media postings and recordings of phone conversations with his mother while in jail.
#Avowed in a sentence plus#
A sentencing hearing on the state charges is set for July 15. A jury has recommended a sentence of life, plus 419 years.Īt Friday's hearing, prosecutors presented film of the Aug. In December, Fields was convicted of murder in state court those charges are separate from the federal charges he was being sentenced for on Friday. View Gallery: Charlottesville demonstrations and memorials across the U.S.
"The bigotry and ideology of neo-Nazis, Nazis, white supremacists, and the Ku Klux Klan are a disgrace to this country and all acts based on those who hold them should be erased from the United States," he said. Thomas Cullen, U.S.attorney for the Western District of Virginia, told reporters that he believes the life sentence would send a message to other extremists who might attempt similar actions. He faced sentencing after pleading guilty in March to 29 federal hate crimes. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
He looked up, facing victims of the attack every so often as they read statements to the judge.Īs a part of a deal with federal prosecutors, the death penalty was off the table.įields, who had a history of pro-Nazi social media postings and who occasionally adorned text messages with photos of Adolf Hitler, appeared in U.S. He slouched in his chair, occasionally pushing glasses up the bridge of his nose. Urbanski said the evidence showed that Fields' actions were premeditated and "doesn't demonstrate a crime born out of impulse, youth or mental illness." At one point, he referred to Fields as a "disturbed young man."įields had been brought into the courtroom handcuffed and in prison garb.
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