A jury in Charlottesville, Virginia ruled that white supremacists must pay $25 million to victims who were attacked at a 2017 “Unite The Right” rally.
The jury found that Richard Spencer, Christopher Cantwell, and Jason Kessler engaged in a conspiracy and were responsible for the violence.
However, the jury did not decide on two of the case’s most significant claims, which argued that the defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit racial violence that violated federal law.
Nine victims of “Unite the Right” filed suit against the rally’s key participants, accusing them of deliberately creating the conditions which led to a violent, chaotic, and racist event. Lawyers for the defendants, a coalition of 24 far-right groups and individuals, denied those claims in court.
The nonprofit group that backed the plaintiffs’ lawsuit called the ruling a victory.
“Our plaintiffs have won their lawsuit against the Nazis, white supremacists, & hate groups behind the deadly Unite the Right violence in Charlottesville,” the organization “Integrity First For America” tweeted on Tuesday. “This is a HISTORIC legal victory against the forces of violent hate that threaten our communities & our democracy.”
