New York Daily News

ROT IN JAIL TILL THE DAY YOU DIE

Neo-Nazi who killed woman at rally is locked up for life

- BY JESSICA SCHLADEBEC­K

The self-professed white supremacis­t who killed a woman when he rammed his car into a crowd protesting a“Unite the Right” rally in Charlottes­ville, Va., was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

James Alex Fields Jr. pleaded guilty in March to 29 federal hate crimes as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.

Fields was 20 years old when he traveled to Charlottes­ville on Aug. 12, 2017 to join thousands of other white nationalis­t, neo-Nazis and white supremacis­ts for the “Unite the Right” rally to protest the removal a statue of Confederat­e War General Robert E. Lee in a public park.

He plowed through a crowd of demonstrat­ors, killing Heather Heyer, 34, and injuring dozens of others. When he spotted the group of diverse protesters carrying signs promoting equality, he “rapidly accelerate­d, through a stop sign and across a raised pedestrian mall, and drove directly into the crowd,” according to a federal indictment.

His Dodge Challenger only came to a stop when it barreled into another vehicle, according to court papers.

Prior to the attack, Fields went on social media and “expressed and promoted his belief that white people are superior to other races and peoples; expressed support of the social and racial policies of Adolf Hitler and Naziera Germany, including the Holocaust; and espoused violence against African Americans, Jewish people and other members of racial, ethnic and religious groups he perceived to be nonwhite,” the indictment revealed.

In December Fields was convicted of murder and several other charges in Virginia state court.

Those charges are separate from the federal charges he was sentenced for on Friday. He’s is slated to be sentenced in that case next month.

 ??  ?? James Alex Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in jail for ramming his car into a group of people protesting a Unite the Right rally (below) in Virginia in 2017. One woman Heather Heyer (below) was killed and several people were seriously injured.
James Alex Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in jail for ramming his car into a group of people protesting a Unite the Right rally (below) in Virginia in 2017. One woman Heather Heyer (below) was killed and several people were seriously injured.
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