Law James Fields found guilty of all charges

Well, shit. I wasn't optimistic, but at least I predicted it could've gotten pleaded down to manslaughter.

Just over a year after he plowed his vehicle into a crowd protesting a white nationalist rally, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer, James Alex Fields Jr. was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and other felonies – and now faces the possibility of life in prison.

A jury needed a little more than seven hours to convict Fields, of Maumee, Ohio, in the killing of Heyer during a “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia on Aug. 12, 2017.

He was also found guilty of five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and a count of leaving the scene of an accident. Fields faces life in prison.

During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutor Nina-Alice Antony portrayed Fields as a hateful young man who idled his vehicle for more than a minute before backing up and then speeding into the crowd, killing Heyer and injuring dozens of other people.

Video from a Virginia State Police helicopter captured the incident, showing a grey muscle car as it rammed the group and then drove away.


Antony also referenced a text message sent by Fields the day before the rally after his mother told him to be careful.

In the text, accompanied by a picture of Adolf Hitler, Fields wrote: “we’re not the one (sic) who need to be careful.”

Antony also repeatedly reminded jurors about a meme Fields posted on Instagram three months before the crash. The image showed a crowd, identified as “protesters,” being rammed by a car, and depicted bodies being tossed in the air.

"What we have is a man who had a decision, and he decides to turn his Instagram post into reality," she said.

Defense attorney Denise Lunsford urged the jury to consider the chaos of the day, including the use of tear gas and a series of street fights between white nationalists, Antifa activists and counter-protesters.

Lunsford said Fields only drove into the crowd out of fear after finding himself alone and unprotected.

“Look at the circumstances as they appeared to him,” Lunsford said. “He says he felt he was in danger, there were people coming at him.”

On Thursday, she urged the jury to find Fields guilty of “no more than” the lesser charges of manslaughter in Heyer’s death and unlawful wounding for the injuries to others.

The “Unite the Right” rally was organized to protest plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But white nationalists made up the bulk of the protesters who descended on Charlottesville, leading counter-demonstrators and left-leaning activists to join the fray

 

[Feline Darkmage]

Naturally, the guys at TRS aren't happy about this.

Of course, they regularly post the same kind of shit he did, wouldn't be surprised if one of their own becomes the electric boogaloo version of Fields sooner rather than later.

 

[Dogs can't look up]

This guy is about as hard as a bowel movement after a night of drinking. If he doesn't end up in some facility with white nationalists who actually care about him, he has a long future of being beaten and butt fucked ahead of him.

 

[AnOminous]

This guy is about as hard as a bowel movement after a night of drinking. If he doesn't end up in some facility with white nationalists who actually care about him, he has a long future of being beaten and butt fucked ahead of him.

Any black lifer who kills him will be considered a hero, so unless he gets right with some white supremacist gang he's fucked. Unless he gets put in Supermax or some shit for life, which would be worse than even dying.

 

[Apteryx Owenii]

I like watching videos where idiots blocking a street get knocked on their ass when someone in a car doesn't go with their program. The best is when they think they're badasses and forget that those cars you see flipped after a riot usually weren't in motion at the time.

But there's a big difference between that and fucking gunning it straight into a crowd. Nor was he surrounded by black masked antifas breaking his windows or something at the time. I don't care where you put the trial, guy's fucked unless you have the equivalent of an OJ defense team... and jury.

Naturally, the guys at TRS aren't happy about this.
View attachment 609859
View attachment 609858

(in response to the caps)
Yeah, you have to be a robot in public nowadays. It's like you can't run over more than a few people without getting arrested and having your topical white supremacist texts examined!

 

[RadicalCentrist]

I don't care where you put the trial, guy's fucked unless you have the equivalent of an OJ defense team... and jury.

You are delusional if you think he got a fair trial. Now neo-nazi's have more fuel for the oppression narrative.

He would have been found guilty anywhere, but now the whole affair is tainted because of that power-tripping judge.

 

[RG 448]

That’s all well and good but did they revoke his license?

 

[Super-Chevy454]

You are delusional if you think he got a fair trial. Now neo-nazi's have more fuel for the oppression narrative.

He would have been found guilty anywhere, but now the whole affair is tainted because of that power-tripping judge.

Now then you mention it, the lolcows of the Daily Stormer reacted to that news. https://dailystormer.name/james-fields-convicted-on-all-charges/

This is an absolute travesty.

And it is evidence that the justice system in America no longer works, and thus the entire government is illegitimate. If they can put you in prison for murder only because of your political beliefs, you have no rights left, and you are simply waiting around for the government to start the mass round-ups.

I didn’t see this coming.

America was a nice country while it lasted.

AP:

A man who drove his car into counterprotesters at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Virginia was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, a verdict that local civil rights activists hope will help heal a community still scarred by the violence and the racial tensions it inflamed nationwide.

A state jury rejected defense arguments that James Alex Fields Jr. acted in self-defense 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, according to testimony from witnesses and video surveillance shown to jurors.

Yes, the same protesters who had bats and guns were singing and laughing with joy as the psychopathic guy with Google Maps on trying to get home all the sudden decided to commit a murder-car attack at 23 miles an hour.

Prosecutors told the jury that Fields was angry after witnessing violent clashes between the two sides earlier in the day. The violence prompted police to shut down the rally before it even officially began.

Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and civil rights activist, was killed, and nearly three dozen others were injured. The trial featured emotional testimony from survivors who described devastating injuries and long, complicated recoveries.

After the verdict was read in court, some of those who were injured embraced Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro. She left the courthouse without commenting.

 

[Buggins]

I'm not too familiar with US-american laws, but shouldn't there be sufficient grounds to rule this a mistrial?

- There's no conceivable way that the defendant received an "untainted" jury in Charlottesville, after this case had already gone through the "trial by media".
Indeed, the majority of the jury pool confirmed that they've followed the media coverage.

- the judge gave his opinion on the guilt or innocence of the defendant, prior to jury deliberation.
That seems highly inappropriate. Almost like the court went out of their way to prevent another Florida v. Zimmermann situation.

 

[Ruin]

So in addition to the judge's behavior it turns out the prosecutor was a member of multiple ANTIFA pages and friends with ANTIFA leaders including the leader of the Charlottesville march.

I'm no fan of Fields or any of the unite the right morons but all of this should be deeply concerning to anyone who cares about a fair and impartial justice system. We could be headed in a very dark direction if this kid of stuff becomes accepted.

 

[RichardMongler]

It's possible he could also face the death penalty since these are federal charges.

Depending on this case's sentencing, Fields might go down a martyr.

 

[polonium]

Regardless of his actual guilt or innocence, the way he was found guilty is deeply troubling

 

[JosephTX]

My question is if the narrative is he did this on purpose, my question is why did he use his dream car? with clearly visible license plates registered to him, after driving 8 hours, instead of a uhaul which would've inflicted far more damage and atleast offered him time to escape.

 

[TowinKarz]

I'm not too familiar with US-american laws, but shouldn't there be sufficient grounds to rule this a mistrial?

- There's no conceivable way that the defendant received an "untainted" jury in Charlottesville, after this case had already gone through the "trial by media".
Indeed, the majority of the jury pool confirmed that they've followed the media coverage.

The counter-argument to this point is, seeing as this case had national press, no potential jury would be significantly less biased against the defendant than the local one. Also, jurors are specifically vetted beforehand and any who could not rule fairly are asked to recuse themselves and the defense has the ability to "strike" jurors they feel would be biased, so, failure to be granted a change of venue in this case is not strange or automatic grounds for appeal.

You COULD appeal, but the appellate court will probably agree that the C-ville jury wasn't any more likely to convict him than one in Des Moines based on the extensive pre-trial coverage and if the defense does their due diligence during vor dire then they can't really say they did not have the fairest possible jury seated that they could expect. If the defendant's own actions made getting an acquittal from a notorious high-profile crime a long shot, and even the best jury still inclined to hate him, that's his problem.

My question is if the narrative is he did this on purpose, my question is why did he use his dream car? with clearly visible license plates registered to him, after driving 8 hours, instead of a uhaul which would've inflicted far more damage and atleast offered him time to escape.

I don't think he planned a car-based attack, he definitely planned to start shit, but, once there, circumstances and where he found himself led him to just say "fuck it" and use what he had on hand...

 

[Troutsmacked]

He probably would have gotten off if not for the memes. I don't know whether that's sad or hilarious.

No one should get away with plowing their car into a crowd of people but whether antifa should be considered people or not is arguable.

 

[DragoonSierra]

so no mention of the idiot that chased James fields with a rifle
View attachment 609771

(edit)

it has really low sound volume so listen to it on max volume

Dwayne Dixon admits he waved a rifle at James Fields prior to the accident in Charlottesville.mp4

I call BS on this. Theres no god damn way this happened if James Fields or his defense never mentioned it. If a gun actually spooked him Fields would be shouting this at the top of his lungs. This guys just a fucking idiot looking for street cred by using a tragedy for his own ends.

The text to his mother was absolutely stupid from all the obviously misplaced overconfidence, and indeed, his message's ominous tone really hurt his case, although it still doesn't change the fact we're entering an age where even having Hitler pics on your phone as a joke could be entered as evidence. As much in poor taste the Instagram post was made, I refuse to believe that meme showed intent because the meme was just that; a meme and a joke. Nothing more, nothing less. The smartest thing to do if you're going to do edgy humor is be anonymous, but in Fields case, it still doesn't take away from the reality that prosecution can cite old shitposts derived from memes made years ago in response to left-wing demonstrators blocking major thoroughfares as evidence. There's a world of difference between jokes and actually boasting about chasing someone down with a rifle.

Naturally, the guys at TRS aren't happy about this.
View attachment 609859
View attachment 609858

All those people are retarded. 40 years isnt a light sentence

So in addition to the judge's behavior it turns out the prosecutor was a member of multiple ANTIFA pages and friends with ANTIFA leaders including the leader of the Charlottesville march.

I'm no fan of Fields or any of the unite the right morons but all of this should be deeply concerning to anyone who cares about a fair and impartial justice system. We could be headed in a very dark direction if this kid of stuff becomes accepted.

That would only matter if it was his defense attorney. The prosecutors motivations dont matter since the judge is supposed to determine if the prosecutions case is warranted.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

You are delusional if you think he got a fair trial. Now neo-nazi's have more fuel for the oppression narrative.

He would have been found guilty anywhere, but now the whole affair is tainted because of that power-tripping judge.

Does it still count as a "narrative" if it coincides precisely with observable reality?

 

[goku_black]

@DragoonSierra
https://www.richmond.com/news/virgi...cle_0703246b-1bf5-5dd8-b0df-627521acb6b5.html

Earlier in the day, one of the final witnesses in the case, Dwayne Dixon, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor who came to protest the rally, told the jury that he saw a vehicle similar to Fields’ Dodge Challenger circle a downtown park where counterprotesters were gathered sometime between 12:45 and 1:15 p.m.

After seeing it a third time, Dixon forcefully told the driver to “get the f--- out of here,” he said.

Dixon admitted to writing a now-deleted Facebook post in January describing the interaction, saying he “shooed” away Fields while holding a rifle sometime before the fatal car ramming two blocks away.

While the Facebook post has been the subject of conspiracy theories that claim Dixon chased Fields into the crowd, the prosecutor said Dixon may have mistaken Fields’ vehicle for someone else’s.

 

[AnOminous]

- the judge gave his opinion on the guilt or innocence of the defendant, prior to jury deliberation.

What did the judge say? "Okay, jury, now it's time for you to go bring back a guilty verdict on this obviously guilty defendant?"

 

[JosephTX]

@DragoonSierra
https://www.richmond.com/news/virgi...cle_0703246b-1bf5-5dd8-b0df-627521acb6b5.html

Earlier in the day, one of the final witnesses in the case, Dwayne Dixon, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor who came to protest the rally, told the jury that he saw a vehicle similar to Fields’ Dodge Challenger circle a downtown park where counterprotesters were gathered sometime between 12:45 and 1:15 p.m.

After seeing it a third time, Dixon forcefully told the driver to “get the f--- out of here,” he said.

Dixon admitted to writing a now-deleted Facebook post in January describing the interaction, saying he “shooed” away Fields while holding a rifle sometime before the fatal car ramming two blocks away.

While the Facebook post has been the subject of conspiracy theories that claim Dixon chased Fields into the crowd, the prosecutor said Dixon may have mistaken Fields’ vehicle for someone else’s.

How the fuck do you confuse a challenger with out of state plates with someone else?

 

[Iamthatis]

After a while in prison hes gonna be so full of white pride it will be slowly leaking out of his anus.