‘Unfortunate outcome:’ Kessler perjury charge tossed

  Jason Kessler didn’t waste any time addressing the media outside the courthouse March 20 when a judge abruptly dismissed a perjury charge against him during the trial. “[Robert] Tracci is trying to do a political hit job,” he said to the cameras and microphones, adding that he and other attendees of August 12 rally […]

Not guilty: DeAndre Harris acquitted of August 12 assault

As DeAndre Harris’ attorney played video footage of a group of white supremacists beating him to the ground in the Market Street Parking Garage on August 12, Harris sank back in his chair and closed his eyes. Today, he was on trial in Charlottesville General District Court for an encounter that happened just moments before […]

This week in brief: Snuffing out tiki torches, ‘really dank bud’ and too cute puppies

Candles in, tiki torches out Just ahead of Jason Kessler’s March 6 lawsuit against the city complaining that City Manager Maurice Jones unconstitutionally denied his permit for a two-day August 12 anniversary rally—Jones also denied five other applicants’ permit requests for the weekend—City Council updated its event permit regulations February 20. 45-day notice if street […]

Blakney’s August 12 charge moves forward

Charlottesville man Donald Blakney, who is accused of maliciously wounding an Arkansas resident on August 12, had his charge certified to the grand jury in Charlottesville General District Court on March 8. Eric Mattson, who testified he’s a member of a Constitutionalist group called the Highwaymen, said he traveled 16 hours to the Unite the […]

Goodwin motions denied in DeAndre Harris attacks

An Arkansas man whose own attorney admits he kicked DeAndre Harris in the Market Street Garage August 12 filed two motions to exclude evidence of the brutal beating because he claimed the serious injuries to Harris happened before the kicks. Jacob Goodwin, 23, of Ward, Arkansas, was arrested in November and charged with malicious wounding, […]

Keeping out the militia: Law group says legal remedies exist to prevent another August 12

New research shows that all 50 states can legally restrict private militia and paramilitary activity at events such as the summer’s deadly Unite the Right rally, according to the University of Georgetown Law School’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. The legal organization, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of the city last October against […]

Conspiracy theory? Petitioner wants videos of fatal crash released

In a widely viewed YouTube video, a Fairfax man says he’s able to disprove information disseminated by the Charlottesville Police Department about the fatal car attack on August 12. Now William Evans is on a mission to find two videos shown publicly in a December 14 court hearing that could help him understand what happened […]

Our Charlottesville: Essays on the effects of August 12 then and now

The effects of August 12 are both visible and unseen. Palpable and elusive. Deeply felt and formative. Last week, Fourth Street—where Heather Heyer was killed while marching alongside other counterprotesters to let white nationalists and the watching world know that hate has no home here—was renamed in Heyer’s honor. The international spotlight that shone on […]

The Heather Heyer way

On the morning of December 20, around 50 people drew to the scene of the August 12 vehicular attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens more, where dead flowers still line the street and brick walls are still chalked with messages that mourn the 32 year old and disavow the hate that came to […]