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White Nationalist Violence in Charlottesville

James Fields Jr.
mug shot
James Fields Jr.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - An Ohio man accused of plowing his car into counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia is set to make his first court appearance.

Col. Martin Kumer, superintendent at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, says 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. has a bond hearing Monday morning.

Fields is charged with second-degree murder and other counts after authorities say he drove into the crowd, fatally injuring one woman and hurting 19 others.

Fields has been in custody since Saturday. Jail officials told The Associated Press they don't know if he's obtained an attorney.

A high school teacher said Fields was fascinated with Nazism, idolized Adolf Hitler and had been singled out by school officials in the 9th grade for his "deeply held, radical" convictions on race.

Heather Heyer
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Heather Heyer

Heather Heyer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - A close friend of the woman who was killed when a car plowed into peaceful protesters in Charlottesville says she cared about people and stood up for equality.

Marissa Blair said Sunday night at a vigil where the crash happened that Heather Heyer's death was "an act of terror." She says it's a hate crime and should be treated as such.

Blair says she was with Heyer when the crash happened. She says the driver "barreled down," and she could hear the wheels as he accelerated. She says the driver "deserves everything he gets and more."

Friends and family are also mourning the two Virginia state troopers who died Saturday in Charlottesville.

Wilmington Rally

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creative commons

At least a hundred people gathered beneath Rockford Tower last night in Wilmington to show solidarity against fascism and racism in the wake of the clash in Charlottesville Virginia.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that one man held an American flag while others held candles.

Many simply sang songs.

The gathering was sponsored by local chapters of Indivisible.

It’s a nationwide organization that opposed President Donald Trump.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.