Racism

The Lawsuit That Might Cripple The 'Alt-Right'

This case highlights both the power of the civil justice system and its limitations.

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(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

A white supremacist rally in Charlottesville reached a tragic conclusion when neo-Nazi attendee James Alex Fields Jr. allegedly drove his vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters. Nineteen were injured. One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed. Now, two of the injured women have launched a lawsuit not only against Fields, but also against parts of the white-supremacist movement itself.

Old-guard white supremacists such as former KKK Grand Wizard and notorious political figure David Duke and new-school “alt-right” internet trolls like Richard Spencer — of “Heil Trump” infamy — were all on hand for the rally in Charlottesville. The rally was a naked show of force for the neo-Nazi movement, featuring torch-bearing throngs yelling anti-Semitic and white-nationalist chants. Given the milieu and the attendees, it takes only a small stretch of the imagination to assume Nazi-admirer Fields was emboldened by this hate speech when he intentionally crashed his Dodge Challenger into a group of living, breathing human beings.

As it turns out, Fields’s actions might end up wiping out much of the very movement he supported. Two sisters who were injured in the terrorist attack, Tadrint and Micah Washington, have now filed suit against Fields demanding $3,000,000 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages (the maximum amount of punitive damages awardable under Virginia law). The Washingtons have also named rally organizers Duke, Spencer, and 25 other individuals and groups associated with organizing the rally as defendants in the case, alleging that they conspired for decades to foment violence, and ultimately pushed Fields to commit the attack. The Washington sisters have also asked that the state-maximum for punitive damages be assessed against each and every defendant.

If this suit is successful, the consequences for the “alt-right” could be massive. Huge swaths of the organized far-right wing could find themselves on the wrong side of a Virginia jury that is furious for the heartache and disrepute they have brought down upon Charlottesville. If the punitive damages arguments hold up through trial, that jury would be empowered to hand down an award that could financially crush most activist groups, especially groups as small, marginalized, and rightfully reviled as the groups behind the Charlottesville rally.

And remember, the Washington sisters are just two of the people injured by Fields’s alleged attack. Seventeen other individuals were injured, and Heyer, a paralegal, was killed. All of the injured victims and Heyer’s family are possible future plaintiffs. The organizational apparatus of the white nationalist movement could easily find itself damaged by the costs of defending itself from litigation even before disgusted jurors get the opportunity to issue financially ruinous rulings against it.

This case highlights both the power of the civil justice system and its limitations. On the one hand, these civil suits could allow the attacked victims to inflict damage on the groups that incited the violence in a way the criminal system cannot. In this way, justice through the civil system could have a broader impact than the incarceration of a single defendant like Fields. On the other hand, it’s unknown if the plaintiffs will prevail and, even if they do, this type of far-reaching justice isn’t possible in most civil cases. Here, it’s only because this attack happened at a rally organized by the “alt-right” that those organizers might be held accountable for their violent rhetoric. If Fields had committed the same crime somewhere other than the Charlottesville rally, it’s difficult to imagine the people who radicalized him being brought in as defendants on the same case.

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How will the “alt-right” respond legally? One arrow in its quiver may be to argue that this suit is nothing more than a meritless strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) designed solely to force them to incur legal fees in defending themselves. Rally organizers will likely argue they can’t be responsible for the violent and unforeseeable actions of a rogue participant. This argument, however, falls apart when you consider the fact that the very purpose of many of these neo-Nazi and KKK organizations is to advocate for the eradication of certain people and groups. Fields’s actions were simply the physical embodiment of the hatred they spew and were a predictable consequence of their words and behavior.

There are no “very fine people” that march alongside Nazis. The Washington sisters, along with the other victims of the Charlottesville attack, have an opportunity to strike a blow to the heart of the organized white nationalist movement. It may not be in the swift defeat that many may want, but it can be a devastating blow nonetheless. For all the grief that victims who file lawsuits get in other contexts, this situation highlights why our imperfect civil system remains a vital component of social change.

James Goodnow

James Goodnow is an attorney, author, commentator and Above the Law columnist. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Santa Clara University. He regularly appears in the national broadcast and print media, including CNN, HLN, Forbes and more. You can connect with James on Twitter (@JamesGoodnow) or by emailing him at James@JamesGoodnow.com.

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