Integrity First for America is the group that represents the nine people who suffered physical or psychological damages as a result of Unite the Right. The Ku Klux Klan Act was used to prove that the rally's organizers were involved in a conspiracy to cause violence. The co-conspirators, who included Richard Spencer and Andrew Anglin, insisted that the violence was justified. The four-week case was built on a mountain of evidence against the defendants, many of whom were attention-hungry provocateurs or self-styled digital influencers who had largely enjoyed impunity from tech companies until the August 2017 rally predictably descended into brutality. The co- defendants had extensive preparations for the violence and the evidence ranged from chats and emails to phone logs and recorded livestreams.
The jury said on Tuesday that they were unable to agree on two federal claims in the suit. The first of which was the core claim of a conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence, and the second of which was whether the co-conspirators had knowledge of the conspiracy and failed to stop it. The defendants were found guilty on four other counts. The jury found that every one of the defendants violated a Virginia state civil conspiracy law, while some of them violated an additional state law prohibiting harassment or violence based on ethnicity, religion, or race. Alex James Fields Jr., the white supremacist serving multiple life sentences for ramming a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and wounding countless others, was the only one of the remaining two claims that pertained solely to him.
All of the defendants have been found liable on at least one claim, with the jury awarding over $25 million in damages. The court verified that the organizers of Unite the Right participated in an illegal conspiracy.
The jury awarded $500,000 in punitive damages against all 12 individual defendants, including the rally permit holder and the former NSM commander, as well as $1 million in damages against Christopher Cantwell. That is a total of $11 million.
Five defendants are liable for $200,000 each in punitive damages, and two of them are the Daily Stormer's Robert "Azzmador" Ray and Nathaniel Spencer.
Fields is liable for a total of over $12 million in damages on claims five and six.
The Nationalist Front and seven other defendants were hit with default judgments by the court for failure to appear or destruction of evidence. The damages will be decided by the court.
Some of the damages may be reduced. CNN noted that the Virginia state conspiracy claim was only awarded nominal damages. A 2003 Supreme Court ruling frowned on a high ratio of damages.
Many of the co- defendants have been damaged by the legal costs arising from the rally. The National Policy Institute, Spencer's racist think tank, is effectively dead and he has referred to it as financially crippler. Identity Evropa and the TWP have splintered into successor groups, while the NSM has fallen into internal turmoil. Tuesday's verdict will likely mean the same for other defendants, as well as ensure some that have already gone under financially won't recover.
The case has sent a clear message. Amy Spitalnick, the executive director of IFA, told Gizmodo in an email that there will be accountability. The violence was not an accident, as the plaintiffs presented over the court of this trial. The jury agreed. The major financial, legal, and operational consequences for violent hate are underscored by these judgments.
The case has provided a model for accountability at a time when threats to our democracy are rising. The trial allowed the plaintiffs to tell the full story of Unite the Right and expose the violent tactics of the white supremacist movement.
Spitalnick said that the defendants cannot escape the damages and that they were committed to doing so.
Josh Smith, the lawyer for the defense with a history of anti-Semitic remarks and allying with the far right, called the verdict a win for his clients.
It is a politically charged situation. Smith told CNN that it would be hard to get 11 people to agree. A hung jury is a win, considering a disparity of resources.
In a statement to the media, the people who brought the case said it had been four years since they first brought it. We can celebrate that the jury held the defendants accountable for what they did to us and to everyone else who stood up against hate in August of last year.
They hope that the verdict will encourage others to speak up against white supremacy and for human dignity.
