White supremacist gets life in prison for killing Heather Heyer in Charlottesville

James Fields.
(Image credit: Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail via Getty Images)

Self-proclaimed neo-Nazi James Fields, 21, was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after driving his car into a group of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last year.

The sentencing comes days after Fields was convicted of first-degree murder for killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer in the crash, reports The Washington Post. Fields also hit dozens of others protesting against the "Unite the Right" white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last August, for which a jury quickly convicted him of murder and nine other charges.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.