Montreal Gazette

DRIVER WHO HIT MARCHERS CONVICTED

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CHARLOTTES­VILLE, VA. A man who drove his car into a crowd of counterpro­testers at a white nationalis­t rally in Virginia was convicted Friday of first-degree murder for killing a woman in an attack that inflamed long-simmering racial and political tensions across the country. A state jury rejected arguments that James Alex Fields Jr. acted in self-defence during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottes­ville on Aug. 12, 2017. Jurors also convicted Fields of eight other charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and hit and run. Fields, 21, drove to Virginia from his home in Maumee, Ohio, to support the white nationalis­ts. As a large group of counterpro­testers marched through Charlottes­ville singing and laughing, he stopped his car, backed up, then sped into the crowd, killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and civil rights activist, and wounding nearly three dozen others. The jury will reconvene Monday to determine a sentence. Under the law, jurors can recommend from 20 years to life in prison.

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