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| Fields (second from left) |
Right now there is a civil case against the main organisers and participants of the "Unite the Right" rally held in Charlottesville last year. The last I heard was that the judge in the case was considering his verdict -- something that apparently needs to drag on for several weeks!
If this civil case goes against those involved, it could see them financially ruined.
If this civil case goes against those involved, it could see them financially ruined.
So, it's not exactly the best omen for them that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has just come out with comprehensive "hate crime" charges against James Alex Fields, one of the men involved in the handful of criminal cases generated by the rally.
Fields, of course, was the man who famously drove his car into a crowd of leftists on the day of the rally, in an incident that killed one woman and injured several others. A statement released by Sessions gives a good idea of where he is trying to go with this:
Fields, of course, was the man who famously drove his car into a crowd of leftists on the day of the rally, in an incident that killed one woman and injured several others. A statement released by Sessions gives a good idea of where he is trying to go with this:
"Today's indictment should send a clear message to every would-be criminal in America that we aggressively prosecute violent crimes of hate that threaten the core principles of our nation."
Really, that seems like overkill for something that still looks to me like a scared kid trying to get away from a Leftist mob.
The detail of the indictment against Fields is also ominously full of boomerist "Hitler panic" cliches.
As reported on by Reuters:
According to the indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Fields routinely promoted racist ideologies on his social media accounts, including expressing support for Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust.
Prior to heading out for the rally, it says, a family member texted and told him to be careful.
"We're not the ones who need to be careful," he responded, along with an image of Adolf Hitler.
He is charged with wilfully causing bodily harm to Heyer, which resulted in her death, "because of the actual and perceived race, colour, religion, and national origin of individuals in a crowd."
He also faces multiple counts of committing a hate crime with an attempt to kill, and charges of bias-motivated interference with federally protected activity resulting in death.
None of this augurs well for the ongoing civil cases.
In the same way that Trump gives Russia a hard time in order to protect himself from empty accusations of "Russian collusion" by the media, so Sessions seems to be coming down hard on the Alt-Right in order to fend off equally empty accusations of "racism" against the Trump administration (pro-tip: it's not working!)
In the same way that Trump gives Russia a hard time in order to protect himself from empty accusations of "Russian collusion" by the media, so Sessions seems to be coming down hard on the Alt-Right in order to fend off equally empty accusations of "racism" against the Trump administration (pro-tip: it's not working!)
It remains to be seen whether this hard-line approach in a criminal case will spill over into a related civil case.
I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that it will.
I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that it will.
