A self-avowed white supremacist pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal hate crime charges in a deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, admitting that he intentionally plowed his speeding car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens.
This undated file photo provided by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail shows James Alex Fields Jr. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- In a case that stirred racial tensions across the country, a self-avowed white supremacist pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal hate crime charges in a deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, admitting that he intentionally plowed his speeding car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens.
Fields appeared stoic, with his hands folded in front of him for much of the hearing. He repeatedly responded "yes, sir," when U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski asked him if he was pleading guilty knowingly and voluntarily. President Donald Trump sparked a national uproar when he blamed the violence at the rally on "both sides," a statement critics saw as a refusal to condemn racism.
Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, said she and Heyer's father agreed they did not want prosecutors to seek the death penalty.Cullen said prosecutors had been in talks with Fields' lawyers for months about a potential plea agreement, but did not seek to finalize a deal until U.S. Attorney General William Barr last week authorized him not to seek the death penalty if Fields agreed to plead to 29 counts.
The jury rejected a claim by Fields' lawyers that he acted in self-defence because he feared for his life after witnessing the earlier violence.
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