Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Unite the Right rally, is interviewed by reporters while police escort him into the Vienna metro station before they gather for a second Unite the Right Rally on the anniversary of last year's deadly Charlottesville demonstration on August 12, 2018 in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Calla Kessler | The Washington Post | Getty Images<\/p>\n
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Nine people injured during the2017 \"Unite the Right\" rally in downtown Charlottesvilleare entitled to financial compensation, a jury declared Tuesday in reaching a partial verdict. But it could not agree on the most serious claims that the defendants about two dozen white supremacists, neo-Nazis and key organizers engaged in a conspiracy to commit violence under federal law.<\/p>\n
The jury of 11 deliberated for over three days following four weeks of testimony in thecivil trial in a federal courtin Charlottesville. The plaintiffs, all from Charlottesville, described broken bones, bloodshed and emotional trauma resulting from the mayhem. The defendants, some self-described racists and white nationalists, argued they were exercising their First Amendment rights in organizing and participating in the rally.<\/p>\n
The case, known as Sines v. Kessler, was the first major lawsuit in years to be tried under the so-calledKu Klux Klan Act, a rarely used federal law codified after the Civil War. It was installed to diminish the power of white supremacists and protect African Americans, prohibiting discrimination for voting and other rights.<\/p>\n
In making its decision, the jury had to find that the defendants, which include Jason Kessler, the lead organizer of the rally,andRichard Spencer, a white nationalist who coined the term \"alt-right,\"entered into a conspiracy to commit violence. But the jury was deadlocked in the first two counts: a federal conspiracy to interfere with civil rightsand action for neglect to prevent.<\/p>\n
The jury also agreed to a range of punitive damages on the other counts, including assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress,awarding more than $25 million for the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n
White nationalist Richard Spencer, who popularized the term \"alt-right\" speaks at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on October 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida.<\/p>\n
Joe Raedle | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Among the evidence were text messages, social media posts and conversations on Discord, an online chat platform, in which organizers discussed and meticulously planned the two-day event, which turned deadly whenJames Alex Fields Jr., an Ohio man who revered Hitler, rammed his car into a crowd,killing Heather Heyer, a civil rights activist. Dozens were also injured in the car attack, including four of the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, had asked jurors to consider awarding millions of dollars in punitive damages: from $7 million to $10 million for those physically harmed and $3 million to $5 million for emotional pain.<\/p>\n
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.<\/p>\n
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Read the original here: Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Unite the Right rally, is interviewed by reporters while police escort him into the Vienna metro station before they gather for a second Unite the Right Rally on the anniversary of last year's deadly Charlottesville demonstration on August 12, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Calla Kessler | The Washington Post | Getty Images CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va Continue reading
\nJury in Charlottesville 'Unite the Right' trial reaches partial verdict - CNBC<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"