Murder charge upgraded in Charlottesville protest
Woman died following white nationalist rally
The alleged reckless driver who plowed his car into a crowd protesting awhite nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., is now charged with firstdegree murder, after prosecutors showed a judge surveillance video of the deadly assault. Prosecutors announced at the start of a preliminary hearing for James Alex Fields Jr. that they were seeking to upgrade the seconddegree murder charge he previously faced in the Aug. 12 collision in Charlottesville that left 32- year- old Heather Heyer dead and dozens injured. The judge agreed and ruled there is probable cause for all charges against Fields to proceed.
Fields’ case will now be presented to a grand jury for an indictment.
Authorities had initially said 19 people were injured, in addition to Heyer, when Fields rammed his 2010 Dodge Challenger into another vehicle on purpose on a crowded street. But testimony at the preliminary hearing revealed there were many more victims, The Washington Post reported.
Fields, who lived in Ohio before his arrest, is charged with eight counts of “aggravated malicious wounding,” meaning that at least eight of the 35 people who were hurt suffered what Virginia law describes as “permanent and significant physical impairment,” the Post reported.
Authorities say the 20- year- old, described by a former teacher as having a keen interest in Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, drove his speeding car into a group of counterprotesters the day of the “Unite the Right” rally that drewhundreds of white nationalists from around the country.
The attack came after the rally in this Virginia college town had descended into chaos — with violent brawling between attendees and counterdemonstrators — and authorities had forced the crowd to disband.
Surveillance footage from a Virginia State Police helicopter, played by prosecutors in court, captured the moment of impact by the car. The video then showed the car as it reversed, drove away and eventually pulled over.
Fields, of Maumee, Ohio, sat quietly with his hands cuffed during the hearing. His attorney, Denise Lunsford, did not present evidence or make any arguments.