Knife threat and attack: 911 calls
SIX YEARS before police say he rammed his car into protesters in Charlottesville, Va., a Nazi-obsessed white nationalist threatened his own mother with a knife, according to 911 calls released Monday.
James Fields, accused of killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others on Saturday, menaced his mom, Samantha Bloom, when they lived in Florence, Ky.
Records of 911 calls from the police department there revealed that Bloom — who is disabled and uses a wheelchair — called cops in 2011, saying her son was standing behind her wielding a 12-inch knife.
In another incident in 2010, Bloom said Fields smacked her in the head and locked her in the bathroom after she told him to stop playing video games. She told police Fields took medication to control his temper.
Fields, 20, would have been around 13 at the time. As a high school student, Fields revealed an infatuation with the Nazis and Adolf Hitler, a former teacher said.
The disturbing new details about Fields’ background emerged as the accused killer appeared in court. A judge ordered Fields held without bond, citing the suspect’s lack of ties to the community. He was charged with second-degree murder in the 32-year-old Heyer’s death, among other charges.
Fields appeared via video in a Charlottesville courtroom, wearing a black and white jumpsuit. No cameras were allowed to film or photograph the proceeding. He looked down at the ground and solemnly responded “yes sir” or “no sir” to Judge Robert Downer’s questions.
Police said the Ohio man was driving a Dodge Challenger when he mowed down the counterprotesters. The deadly attack was the culmination of Saturday’s mayhem in Charlottesville. The day began with a gathering of white nationalists opposed to the planned removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Two state troopers also died in a helicopter crash as they policed the rally.
Downer appointed Charles (Buddy) Weber as Fields’ attorney after the racist confirmed he could not afford one.
Weber, coincidentally, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the city of Charlottesville seeking to block the removal of the statue, The Daily Progress newspaper reported. Weber also represented Jason Kessler, the protest’s organizer, in a misdemeanor assault case, the National Law Journal reported.
The lawyer did not respond to a Daily News request for comment.
Prior to the car attack, The News photographed Fields — who most recently lived in Maumee, Ohio — marching with members of Vanguard America, a neo-Nazi group that organizes street demonstrations.
His aunt, Pam Fields, told The News that Bloom was paralyzed in a car crash prior to Fields’ birth.
Fields’ father died in a separate car accident in 1996. The death resulted in a trust fund that Fields cashed in when he turned 18, his aunt said. Records show Fields bought the car used in the attack shortly after the windfall.
Fields enlisted in the Army in 2015 but was out after less than four months for reasons that are unclear. He had recently worked as a security guard. His employer, Securitas, said in a statement he had been fired.
“Of course we were shocked,” Pam Fields said of the hate-fueled car attack. “We really feel sorrow over this.”
Outside the courthouse on Monday, two of Fields’ supporters defended the accused killer, echoing complaints of other white nationalists that authorities had not properly policed the protest. They said Fields had been frightened by counterprotesters attacking his ride.
“He has zero culpability. He panicked,” one of the men said, referring to Fields. “It’s not an excuse to kill but as long as these people are chanting to kill you and are beating your car and breaking your windows, what do you do? How do you react? How would you react if an angry mob was coming after you?”
Counterprotesters chased the men away from the courthouse, yelling “Nazis go home!”