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Alleged driver of car that plowed into Charlottesville crowd was a Nazi sympathizer, former teacher says
My deepest condolences to the family of Heather D. Heyer and prayers to all who were injured by Fields, an apparent fascist terrorist.
By T. Rees Shapiro, Ellie Silverman, Laura Vozzella and John Woodrow Cox August 13, 2017
James Alex Fields Jr
CHARLOTTESVILLE — A man accused of plowing a car into a crowd of protesters here — killing one person and leaving 19 injured — long sympathized with Nazi views and had stood with a group of white supremacists hours before Saturday’s bloody crash. The alleged driver, James Alex Fields Jr., a 20-year-old who traveled to Virginia from Ohio, had espoused extremist ideals at least since high school, according to Derek Weimer, a history teacher. Weimer said that he taught Fields during his junior and senior years at Randall K. Cooper High School in Kentucky. In a class called “America’s Modern Wars,” Weimer recalled that Fields wrote a deeply researched paper about the Nazi military during World War II. Richard B. Spencer, a leader in the white supremacist movement who coined the term “alt-right,” said he didn’t know Fields but had been told he was a member of Vanguard America, which bills itself as the “Face of American Fascism.” In a statement tweeted Saturday night, the group denied any connection to Fields.
In several photographs that circulated online, he was seen with the group while sporting its unofficial uniform. Like members, he wore a white polo, baggy khakis and sunglasses, while holding a black shield that features a common Vanguard symbol.“It was obvious that he had this fascination with Nazism and a big idolatry of Adolf Hitler,” Weimer said. “He had white supremacist views. He really believed in that stuff.” Richard B. Spencer, a leader in the white supremacist movement who coined the term “alt-right,” said he didn’t know Fields but had been told he was a member of Vanguard America, which bills itself as the “Face of American Fascism.” In a statement tweeted Saturday night, the group denied any connection to Fields. Police identified the woman killed by the car as Heather D. Heyer, 32, a Charlottesville resident. As of Saturday evening, the crash had left five people in critical condition and another 14 injured, according to a spokeswoman at the University of Virginia Medical Center, where all of the wounded were being treated. City officials said an additional 14 had been hurt in street brawls.
My deepest condolences to the family of Heather D. Heyer and prayers to all who were injured by Fields, an apparent fascist terrorist.
