Trial starts for man accused of killing counterprotester in Charlottesville
Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of James Fields, the self-described neo-Nazi accused of driving his Dodge Challenger into a group of counterprotesters and killing Heather Heyer at last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, reports CNN.
Heyer, 32, attended the event to speak out against white supremacists who were rallying in Charlottesville. Fields is charged with first-degree murder, as well as numerous accounts of malicious wounding. Fields' defense team has asked to move the trial out of Charlottesville, saying Fields "has come to symbolize the community trauma" suffered during the violent rally so it will be impossible to find objective jurors. Prosecutors say the pretrial publicity doesn't justify a change of venue.
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