Fourteen people and 10 white nationalist and extremist organizations have been sued by some protesters and others in a civil lawsuit, who claim they suffered life-changing injuries. at the rally.
The plaintiffs, which include town residents and protesters injured in the clashes, are seeking statutory damages and damages for the physical and emotional injuries they suffered. due to protests. They also protested that the organizers of the protest participated in a plot and planned violence to incite a religious and racial war.
Defense attorneys and the two senior defendants who are representing them argue that none of the plaintiffs can prove the defendants committed acts of organized racial violence.
The jurors received their verdicts Friday morning and began deliberations.
U.S. Judge Norman K. Moon said after Friday the court will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Only time I change that if all jurors agree and want to. get over that,” Moon said.
In each case, the jury will decide whether a defendant is liable for damages. In a civil trial, plaintiffs’ attorneys must prove the defendant is liable by “evidence superiority,” Moon told jurors, which means 50.1% or more. than the chances of the claim being true.
To be successful, plaintiffs must prove the existence of a conspiracy involving two or more people, according to instructions given to jurors.
In addition, the plaintiffs must prove the conspiracy was motivated in part by “animus” against Black or Jewish people or because the plaintiffs supported those communities and the conspiracy was intended to deprive them of their right to be free from prosecution. violence due to their race, grand jury instructions said.
Ultimately, plaintiffs must prove at least one person in the conspiracy has “performed an overt act” in perpetuating racial violence and that the plaintiffs were injured as a result of that conduct, according to the guidelines.
According to one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Roberta Kaplan said the plaintiffs hit by Fields’ vehicle are seeking $7 to $10 million in damages while others are claiming $3 to $10 million in damages. 5 million dollars.
Plaintiff’s lawyer said that it was not a problem that some of the defendants did not know each other
A strong team of attorneys under the umbrella of the nonprofit Integrity First for America are representing the plaintiffs in their civil cases.
On Thursday, while concluding arguments, attorneys for the plaintiffs told the jury that the defendants were preparing for the “Battle of Charlottesville,” and that messages were sent between them and their actions after the case. violence is proof of a conspiracy.
Kaplan told jurors they should find the defendants liable “according to the law, to the truth and to common sense.”
Dunn also demonstrated to the judges how protest organizers issued calls for shields and other weapons, including flagpoles and pepper spray, which they called “gas.” .
She also brought in messages from other white supremacists who supported the idea that street protesters should be run away.
“This is predictable,” says Dunn.
“The evidence in this case is very clear that this plan went as intended,” Dunn said.
Dunn noted that many of the defendants claimed they didn’t know what was going on or that they didn’t know each other, but “it doesn’t matter, they’re still part of the plot.”
“This is about the use of force. This is about occupying space and that was the plan for the Battle of Charlottesville,” Dunn said.
Defense says they did not initiate deadly violence
James Kolenich, attorney for Jason Kessler and two other defendants, told the jury, “Hearing all this testimony or hearing all of this from the plaintiffs, I want you to say, ‘So what.’
He said the horrific injuries suffered by many plaintiffs “did not prove conspiracy. And the plaintiffs never claimed they did.”
Spencer, who is defending himself, said he was not part of a conspiracy because he had never participated in conversations on an app used by other defendants. Then, in a tense moment between Spencer and the judge, Spencer recalled then-President Donald Trump’s infamous statement about the protest: “There are good people on both sides.”
But Moon told him the quote was never included in the evidence. Spencer said he agreed with the sentiment, ignoring the judge’s order. “There are some bad people on both sides,” Spencer said, referring to antifa.
The defense was notably less cohesive than the plaintiffs – sometimes blaming the violence, claiming they didn’t like each other, sniping each other, and claiming they barely knew each other.
They have said they did not initiate the deadly violence that followed, arguing that they were exercising a First Amendment right to protest. They also say there was no conspiracy and that the violence stemmed from law enforcement’s failure to keep opposition groups separate.
CNN’s Mark Morales, Steve Almasy and Amir Vera contributed to this report.
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