'Unite the Right' white nationalist James Fields facing life in prison at sentencing today
The sentencing hearing begins Monday in Virginia for a white nationalist convicted of first-degree murder after crashing his car into a crowd of counterprotesters at a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville last year.
James Alex Fields Jr., 21, could face life in prison after a jury convicted him Friday of killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal, in the chaotic minutes after the rally was broken up by police.
The jury will hear testimony before issuing a recommendation to Judge Richard Moore, who will ultimately determine Fields' fate.
The rally, in opposition to plans calling for removal of a Robert E. Lee statue from a city park, drew a throng of counterprotesters. Fields plowed his 2010 Dodge Challenger into them, injuring dozens and further increasing tensions between vocal, right-leaning activists and their outraged critics in the city that is home to the University of Virginia.
After the incident, President Donald Trump stirred further controversy when he said “both sides” were to blame and declined to condemn the white nationalists as racist.
The rally was organized by UVA graduate James Kessler, a leader of the "alt-right" movement that has emerged in recent years. "Alt-right" is a loosely defined group whose far-right ideology can include racism, populism and white nationalism.
The rallies in Charlottesville have consistently drawn the ire of local officials, University of Virginia administrators, students and faculty, as well as public figures across the nation.
More: Neo-Nazi convicted of murder in Charlottesville car assault
More: Accused Charlottesville killer James Fields to argue self-defense
Fields, from Maumee, Ohio, was convicted of an additional five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and one hit-and-run count. He also faces 30 federal hate-crime counts that could draw the death penalty.
Fields has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Federal prosecutors described Fields as a Nazi sympathizer who has advocated violence against blacks and Jews on social media and who participated in chants promoting white supremacy and racist views during the Unite the Right rally.
The federal indictment said Fields drove to where the counterprotest was taking place and backed up to the top of a hill.
“Fields then rapidly accelerated, ran through a stop sign and across a raised pedestrian mall, and drove directly into the crowd, striking numerous individuals, killing Heather Heyer, and injuring many others,’’ the indictment said.
Contributing: Mike James, USA TODAY; Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Unite the Right' white nationalist James Fields facing life in prison at sentencing today
