A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group. </s> A Virginia jury has convicted James Alex Fields Jr of first-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

The jury deliberated for less than a day before convicting on Friday the 21-year-old of murder and several other charges stemming from the deadly confrontation that occurred after police had declared an unlawful assembly and cleared a park of white supremacists gathered for the "Unite the Right" rally.

During the incident, Fields slammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heyer and injuring dozens more.

Earlier in the day, Fields was photographed marching with Vanguard America, a neo-Nazi group, during the rally. Throughout the day, rally participants clashed with community members, anti-racists and anti-fascists across the city.

Unite the Right, called to oppose Charlottesville's decision to remove a Confederate statue, was the largest white nationalist rally in the United States in recent times.

The rally brought out thousands of supporters of the alt-right, a loosely-knit coalition of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

Fields's defence team did not contest that he was behind the wheel of the grey Dodge Challenger when it struck activists who had descended upon the Virginia city to counter a "Unite the Right" rally. But they argued their client was "scared for his life".

The prosecution called multiple witnesses and victims who recounted in some cases what turned out to be life-altering injuries.



The witnesses testified the event had become peaceful, "joyful" and "celebratory" after city authorities ordered the far right to disperse - countering the defence's narrative of a hostile, frightening atmosphere at the time of the attack.



Earlier in the week, they presented jurors an SMS message Fields sent to his mother before departing for the rally after she had asked him to be careful.



"We're not the one who need to be careful" he replied, alongside a photo of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whom he has long admired.

Federal charges

Separately, Fields also faces dozens of federal charges, including hate crimes, which could result in the death penalty.

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In the wake of the deadly Charlottesville protest, several articles investigating Fields's history found a lengthy social media trail of neo-Nazi content and racist posts.

Following the rally, far-right participants from across the country faced legal backlash, with a slew of civil suits against the organisers.

Heyer was among 18 people killed by white supremacists in the US last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League. White nationalist, neo-Nazi and far-right groups that took to the streets in Charlottesville saw permits for a spate of subsequent public events pulled or denied, while hosting services, social media outlets and tech companies cracked down on far-right individuals and groups.

Earlier this month, the FBI released its annual hate crimes report for 2017. It says, hate crimes grew for the third consecutive year, increasing by 17 percent. </s> Neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. was found guilty on 10 charges including first-degree murder Friday after plowing his car into protesters during the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year, killing Heather Heyer.

Fields ― a 21-year-old extremist associated with the hate group Vanguard America ― faced charges of first-degree murder and other felonies over the attack, in which he intentionally sped into protesters after the “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, killing one and injuring dozens more. He also faces 30 charges in a separate federal case over the same attack.

“That is the face of anger, of hatred. It’s the face of malice,” said Nina-Alice Antony, assistant commonwealth’s attorney, according to WTOP.

During the trial, prosecutors provided evidence that Fields showed little remorse for the murder in a call he made to his mother in December 2017. He referred to Heyer as “that one girl who died, or whatever” and said her death “doesn’t fucking matter,” according to BuzzFeed.

Days prior to the deadly rally, he sent a photo of Adolf Hitler to his mother along with the text, “We’re not the one [sic] who need to be careful.”

Videos from several angles and photos from the Charlottesville attack show Fields flying down Fourth Street in his car, plowing into protesters, then backing up and hitting more.

Fields’ defense asked the court to find him guilty of lesser charges of unlawful wounding and involuntary manslaughter, arguing that he was immature at the time of the attack and that he drove into protesters out of fear. Antony called the defense an excuse, noting that Fields could have backed away from protesters.

Fields was also found guilty of eight counts of malicious wounding of various degrees, and a count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident. His sentencing hearing begins Monday, according to BuzzFeed’s Blake Montgomery. </s> Driver in deadly car attack at Charlottesville white nationalist rally pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

James Alex Fields was at the Unite the Right rally when he killed anti-racism activist Heather Heyer, 32. </s> A neo-Nazi who drove his car into a group of protesters, killing one, during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was found guilty of murder on Friday.

James Alex Fields, 21, has been convicted of killing activist Heather Heyer when he plowed his Dodge Challenger into her and others during the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.

Fields is an avowed supporter of neo-Nazi beliefs.

A jury found that Fields acted with premeditation on Aug. 12, 2017, when he backed up his car before barreling down a narrow street crowded with counterprotesters.

He slammed his car into the group, killing the 32-year-old Heyer and injuring 35 others.

The deadly attack came hours after a group of white supremacists, some wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats, descended on the University of Virginia campus holding tiki torches and shouting “Jews will not replace us.”

In response to the violence, President Trump said there was “blame on both sides.” </s> Neo-Nazi and self-professed white supremacist James Alex Fields has pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 federal hate crimes in a deal approved by Attorney General William Barr. As part of the plea, prosecutors agreed not to ask for the death penalty.

James Alex Fields Jr., 25, of Ohio, was convicted on 29 of 30 counts as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacy across the country.

The deal was approved by new Attorney General William Barr, prosecutors said. Fields entered the courtroom in a gray and white jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Fields was convicted in state court and sentenced to life in prison in December for first-degree murder and other counts for killing Heather D. Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

Pleading guilty to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of fear for his safety and confusion. They said he immediately regretted his actions. </s> The Latest: Man pleads guilty to hate crimes in car attack

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on a man pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges in a deadly car attack at white nationalist rally in Virginia(all times local):

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 29 federal charges stemming from the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

The 21-year-old Fields was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists.

On Wednesday, Fields admitted he violated federal hate crime laws when he targeted the group.

A man convicted on state murder charges in a deadly car attack on counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia is due in federal court for a change-of-plea hearing.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, was convicted in state court in December in the death of anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and for injuring dozens more.

Fields separately pleaded not guilty to 30 federal hate crime charges in July. An online court docket says Fields is scheduled to appear in federal court in Charlottesville on Wednesday for a change-of-plea hearing.

One of the charges carries the death penalty, although prosecutors have not announced whether they planned to seek that punishment.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen declined to comment. Lawyers for Fields did not respond to requests for comment. </s> CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - An avowed neo-Nazi who killed one woman and injured 35 other people when he plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters at an infamous rally here pleaded guilty to hate crimes in federal court Wednesday.

James Alex Fields Jr., 21, of Ohio admitted guilt to 29 of 30 counts in a federal indictment as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed they would not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolize the violent resurgence of white supremacism in the United States. Fields is set to be sentenced July 3.

Late last year, Fields was convicted in state court of first-degree murder and other charges for killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017. The jury in that case recommended a life sentence, and a state judge is scheduled to formally impose it in mid-July.

Admitting guilt to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose attorneys argued during his trial in state court that he sped toward the crowd out of confusion and fear for his safety. They said he immediately regretted his actions.

On Wednesday, Fields, who has grown a bushy beard in the months since his state trial, entered a federal courtroom here in a gray-and-white-striped prisoner's jumpsuit and handcuffs. He spoke only to answer a judge's questions and displayed no emotion during the hourlong hearing.

Susan Bro, Heyer's mother, said after the hearing she was satisfied with the result.

"There's no point in killing him. It would not bring back Heather," Bro said.

It's a relief to think we don't have to go through another trial. It was exhausting the first time. I can get on with my life and the other victims can, too."

Thomas Cullen, U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said he was gratified that Fields finally had to admit he was motivated by hate, calling the crime "an indelible mark on the city of Charlottesville, our state and our country."

Fields pleaded guilty to one count of a hate crime act that resulted in the death of Heyer and 28 counts of hate crimes that caused injury and involved an attempt to kill other people in the crowd. Each of the 29 counts carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Attorney General William Barr approved the deal.

The violence in 2017 and President Donald Trump's assertion afterward that there were "very fine people" on both sides of the Charlottesville rally sparked intense criticism and a fresh focus on the renewed forces of ethno-nationalism.

The events began on Aug. 11 when far-right groups mounted a torchlight march through the University of Virginia campus shouting racist and anti-Semitic slogans, including, "Jews will not replace us!" Fields was already on his way to Charlottesville, arriving the next day for a rally that was nominally held to protest the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. The event, involving hundreds of marchers, generated national media attention after rallygoers carrying Nazi flags and shouting racial epithets clashed violently with counterprotesters. Police eventually dispersed the groups.

A short-time later, Fields was seen driving his gray Dodge Charger up to a group of counterprotesters on a narrow street. He slowly backed up and then accelerated down a hill directly into the group.

Video, which was played at Fields' state trial, shows protesters tumbling and screaming as the car slams into them. Fields then reverses at a high rate of speed, hitting and dragging others. Someone repeatedly yelled: "Oh god! Oh god!"

Heyer was killed, while others were seriously wounded. One woman who limped to the stand at Fields' state trial testified she had five surgeries and was expecting a sixth. Another described a broken pelvis and a third how he pushed his fiance out of the way before he was hit by Fields' car.

Fields, who a mental health expert testified suffered psychiatric issues from childhood and worked as a security guard, did not deny running into the crowd, but his attorneys argued that he acted to protect himself.

But prosecutors forcefully countered that argument and the jury at the six-day trial ultimately rejected it.

Jurors were shown a deleted Instagram post by Fields shared three months before that crash that featured a car running into a group of people. A caption read: "You Have the Right to Protest, But I'm Late for Work."

A state prosecutor also showed a blown-up image of Fields in his car to counter the idea that he was scared when he acted.

"This is not the face of someone who is scared," said a state prosecutor said at the time. "This is the face of anger, of hatred. It's the face of malice."

As part of the plea agreement in federal court, prosecutors said Fields admitted that before the rally, he had used social media to "express and promote white supremacist views," including admiration for the racial-purity doctrine of Adolf Hitler. They said he used those accounts to "espouse violence against African-Americans, Jewish people, and members of other racial, ethnic and religious groups he perceived to be nonwhite."

After Wednesday's federal court hearing, Bro was asked whether Heyer's killing had raised the community's consciousness about racial disparities.

"Sadly, it took a white girl dying before anyone paid attention to civil rights around here," she told reporters. "I wish we had woken up sooner."

But Bro did describe one moment of healing. When asked whether she had ever come in contact with Fields' mother, Bro said she had seen her just once, at the state trial.

“She looked at me, and I looked at her,” Bro said. "I said, ‘I’m sorry.’ She said, ‘I’m sorry.’ " </s> The neo-Nazi fanatic who rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters at a white supremacist rally in Virginia in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced after pleading guilty in March to federal hate crime charges in the Aug. 12, 2017, Charlottesville attack that left 32-year-old Heather Heyer dead and more than two dozen others injured.

Fields is slated to be sentenced next month on state charges.
A jury finds James Alex Fields guilty of the murder, in the first degree, of Heather Heyer at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.