Fields trial to stay in Charlottesville
The judge in the case of the Ohio man accused of killing counterprotester Heather Heyer has declined the defense’s motion for a change of venue, according to the NBC29 TV station in Charlottesville, Virginia.
James Alex Fields, 21, faces first-degree murder and a number of other charges related to last August’s car attack on a crowd of demonstrators protesting against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
Fields’ attorney, Denise Lunsford, filed a motion Aug. 14 arguing that either the trial should be moved to another jurisdiction or jurors should be brought in from elsewhere.
“Community prejudice against Fields in the City of Charlottesville, the impact of the events on the Charlottesville residents and the widespread publicity this case has received are reasonably certain to prevent a fair and reasonable trial,” the motion reads.
Lunsford presented more than 2,000 pages of news media articles to support her contention. The judge was not swayed.
Fields allegedly participated in a white supremacist demonstration on Aug. 12, 2017, and is accused of ramming his car into the protesters later that day, sending bodies flying and others scrambling for safety. More than two dozen were injured in the attack.
The incidents surrounding the “Unite the Right” rally in the university town drew widespread attention, which was heightened when President Donald Trump said of the clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters, “I think there is blame on both sides.’’
In addition to the first-degree murder charges in Charlottesville, Fields was charged with 30 federal hate crimes, which could carry the death penalty. He pleaded not guilty.
This month, two rallies observed the one-year anniversary of the confrontations. In Charlottesville, demonstrators chanted and condemned bigotry on a day that included a vigil for Heyer and a speech by her mother, Susan Bro.
Fields’ trial is scheduled to start
Nov. 26 and is expected to last about three weeks.