The trial of ten hate groups and 14 white supremacists moves into its fourth week Monday in Charlottesville.
The plaintiffs say the defendants conspired to commit racially-motivated violence on August 11th and 12th of 2017. Sandy Hausman talked with reporter Lisa Provence who is covering the civil lawsuit for Cville Weekly. She says this is an unprecedented case.
Provence says nine plaintiffs who suffered injuries before and during Unite the Right have strong representation.
“They have gotten this top-notch legal team assembled, including Roberta Kaplan who is known for Windsor versus the U.S. – the signature gay marriage case," she said. "They had a really great legal team, and all of these attorneys are doing this pro bono.”
By contrast, some of the defendants are representing themselves – insisting they were not involved in any conspiracy.
“For example, Richard Spencer is trying to maintain that he was just there as a speaker, but the plaintiffs have drawn these lines that show a guy that worked for him, Elliott Kline, he was talking to him almost every day, and he was a major planner of Unite the Right."
Prosecutors have relied on a trove of evidence discovered on a platform called Discord- where they found hundreds of communications from those who appeared to be planning violent attacks. If they win, plaintiffs hope to collect heavy fines that could cripple hate groups and prevent future attacks.
To hear more of our interview with Lisa Provence
