Tag: Courtney Commander

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In brief: Surviving the anniversary, unfinished A12 legal business, another contender, and more

First Baptist Church was the scene for August 12 reflection and moving forward—as it was two years ago. Amy Jackson

Forward together

It was a full house at First Baptist Church on West Main Street on August 12, as a diverse crowd gathered for an interfaith service. “It fills my heart to see the pews filled like this,” said deacon Don Gathers. “We’ve come together not because of what happened, but in spite of it.”

A promised appearance by several presidential candidates fell through, after Cory Booker returned to New Jersey to deal with a water crisis, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had asked to speak at the service but been denied, canceled at the last minute.

The service, which echoed similar gatherings held at the church after the violence in 2017 and on the first anniversary last year, was full of music, prayers, and reflection. It also featured testimony from August 12, 2017, survivors and faith leaders.

Activist Tanesha Hudson, a Charlottesville native, said activists of color had sometimes been left behind, and urged everyone to put action behind their conversations. “The world is watching Charlottesville, so how we recover is going to lay down the blueprint for how the world recovers.”

Marisa Blair and Courtney Commander, who were with their friend Heather Heyer when she died, said the anniversary had been harder than expected, but Blair said she wanted to talk about love. “Be kind. Be gentle. You don’t know what anyone else is facing.”

Presbyterian leader Jill Duffield spoke about living in Charleston, South Carolina, when a white supremacist gunman murdered nine people at the Emanuel AME church, but said it had taken the events in Charlottesville to make her understand the prevalence of white supremacist violence.

And Rabbi Tom Gutherz, of Congregation Beth Israel, addressed the long history of anti-Semitism, calling it “the glue that holds white supremacy together.” The son of a Holocaust survivor, he acknowledged that Jewish people in America have also been privileged. “I may have been surprised,” he said of the violence in Charlottesville, “but African Americans have always known it.”

He exhorted the audience to “be a resister, and not a bystander,” and said, “I believe that we will find a way forward together.” 

Clockwise from top left: Don Gathers, Sarah Kelley and Michael Cheuk, Tanesha Hudson, Tom Gutherz, Marissa Blair and Courtney Commander, and Jill Duffield were among those who spoke at First Baptist Church August 12. Amy Jackson

Quote of the week

“You literally have to love the hell out of people.”—Marissa Blair, survivor of the August 12, 2017, car attack

In brief

Kessler refiles

Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler took to the federal courts—again—on the second anniversary of the deadly rally in Charlottesville to sue the city and its officials for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights in August 2017. Kessler and co-plaintiff David Parrott claim police allowed a heckler’s veto to suppress their exercise of free speech by not stopping the fights that led to an unlawful assembly.

Hudson sues, too

Another civil suit was filed August 12, this one by local activist Tanesha Hudson. The lawsuit claims Hudson was denied her First, Fifth, and 14th Amendment rights when she joined Jehovah’s Witnesses counterprotesting at the Unite the Right rally. She’s seeking $400,000 in damages.

Fourth Street petition

City resident Aileen Bartels wants the mall crossing at Fourth Street closed and is circulating a petition to do so, a move unpopular with many downtown businesses, NBC29 reports. Bartels, whose petition had 325 signatures at press time, contends the crossing is a “serious safety hazard” for pedestrians on the mall, and notes the notoriety of the place where James Fields drove his car into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens.

Another challenger

A UVA doctor will run against Denver Riggleman for the 5th District congressional seat. Cameron Webb, who practices and teaches at UVA, lives in Albemarle. He says he’s going to focus on improving access to affordable health care. He joins R.D. Huffstetler and Fauquier lawyer Kim Daugherty in seeking the Dem nomination.

Screwdriver killing

A jury found Gerald Francis Jackson, 61, guilty August 7 of voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of his neighbor, Richard Wayne Edwards, 55, in his Cherry Street apartment. A jury recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison.

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‘It’s a relief:’ Fields pleads guilty to federal charges

Susan Bro at a memorial last year for her daughter Heather Heyer. Bro says she's relieved to not have to go through another trial. Photo: Eze Amos

Some victims of the August 12, 2017, car attack are breathing a sigh of relief that they won’t have to endure a second trial, after the white supremacist who murdered Heather Heyer pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes on March 27.

In a state trial in December, James Alex Fields, Jr., a 21-year-old from Maumee, Ohio, was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, and other charges for killing Heyer and severely injuring dozens of other anti-racist protesters when he drove into a crowd on Fourth Street—an event that many have called an act of domestic terror.

A Charlottesville jury recommended he serve a life sentence plus 419 years in prison, but Fields still faced federal charges. His guilty plea agreement means he’ll avoid the possibility of being sentenced to death.

“It’s a relief to think that we don’t have to go through another trial,” says Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro. “It was exhausting the first time.”

She also called it a relief that Fields, who initially pleaded not guilty to the hate crimes, has finally acknowledged his guilt, and admitted that he willfully caused bodily injury to the group of protesters celebrating on Fourth Street because of their race, color, religion, or national origin. Now, “he can get on with his life and I can get on with mine,” says Bro.

Fields told the judge he’d been receiving therapy and taking medication for mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, schizoid personality, and explosive onset disorders since he was 6 years old. But when asked if he was under the influence of any medicine or alcohol that would interfere with his ability to enter the plea freely and voluntarily, he said, “I’m feeling normal, sir.”

Fields, now sporting a thick, scruffy beard that stuck out about an inch off his face, was escorted into the courtroom in handcuffs by multiple U.S. Marshals.

In exchange for Fields’ guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski explained that a 30th charge, which carried the possibility of the death penalty, would be dropped. Therefore, his maximum punishment would be another life sentence.

U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said he thought the plea agreement struck a good balance between punishment and protecting the interests of his victims, and that it, “vindicated—to the extent you can ever vindicate—the loss of life in respect to Heather Heyer.”

“There’s no point in killing him. It would not bring back Heather,” says her mother.

Bro has remained in the spotlight as racial tensions boil in the wake of the rally where her daughter died, which brought Fields and hundreds of other white supremacists and neo-Nazis to town, and emboldened others across the country. She’s the co-founder of the Heather Heyer Foundation, which seeks to honor the life of the 32-year-old paralegal and activist through scholarship opportunities for people passionate about bringing peaceful social change.

Says Bro, “Sadly, it took a white girl dying before anyone paid attention to civil rights around here.”

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Not healed: August 12 survivors ask for help

Tay Washington, who was sitting in her car on Fourth Street when it was struck by James Fields’ car on August 12, 2017, spoke at an event to raise money for Heal Charlottesville, which provides financial assistance to victims of the attack. EZE AMOS

By Jonathan Haynes

The vaulted sanctuary of First United Methodist Church fell silent Friday night as survivors of the vehicular assault that killed Heather Heyer spoke one by one about their paths to recovery. Survivors organized the event to raise money for Heal Charlottesville, a local charity that provides financial assistance to people harmed by Unite the Right protesters on August 11 and 12, 2017.

Kendall Bills, the evening’s emcee, opened the November 9 event by recounting the concussion she sustained after a Nazi punched her in the face. She warned that speakers would be describing white supremacist violence and would not take questions, then she reminded the audience that donation boxes were stationed on the lectern and near all the exits.

Victims recalled the assault in graphic detail. Tay Washington, an EMT, was sitting in her car on Fourth Street when it was struck by James Fields’ car. “I heard a big noise, like a bomb had gone off, then I opened my eyes and saw people tumbling over the car,” she said, embracing her sister as tears trickled down her cheeks.

She also said that, as someone from Mississippi, she wasn’t used to seeing so many white people show up in support of black Americans.

Many survivors said they were initially hesitant to accept financial help from Heal Charlottesville. Another victim, Lisa, who did not give her last name, said she felt like she did not deserve money from the fund, but was prompted to accept it after she realized her insurance only covered 30 physical therapy sessions.

“When you feel like you’re not paying for yourself, you worry about becoming a problem,” said Washington, who has not been able to return to work. “It feels wrong to go and ask for more because you found a new doctor.”

The inability to return to work was a common theme. Star Peterson, who suffered injuries in one of her ribs, two parts of her back, and both of her legs, hasn’t been able to return to work after five surgeries and infections caused by the surgical metal doctors implanted in her leg.

Trauma also played a role. “I live with physical scars, though sometimes the more painful scars are mental,” said Courtney Commander, a friend of Heyer’s who went to the August 2017 rally with her. For her part, Al Bowie was skeptical of receiving help after spending time in the hospital, which she found more traumatic than the attack itself.

While it wasn’t mentioned at the event, many survivors of the August 12 attacks have been bracing themselves for James Fields’ upcoming trial. The 21-year-old from Ohio, who is accused of driving into a crowd of protesters, will begin a three-week trial for first-degree murder and malicious woundings in Charlottesville Circuit Court on November 26. He also faces 30 federal hate crime charges.

Despite all the pain and trauma, the sense of community that emerged after the attacks was a common thread. “I had the privilege of confronting fascism alongside some of the most beautiful people I’ve met in my life,” said Peterson. Bills echoed this sentiment, saying, “The most powerful thing of the summer was what my friends were able to bring out of me. That my sister, community, best friends stepped up with me.”

Still, the tone was urgent. Heal Charlottesville would need more funding to continue its work. Peterson implored people to donate to the organization, which paid for her rent, groceries, and medical bills in the aftermath of the assault. “They don’t have enough to help victims for as long as they need,” she said. “I want to ask Charlottesville to keep walking by my side.”