White supremacist sentenced to life in prison on hate crime charges in Charlottesville attack

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 28 June 2019

The white supremacist who killed a woman and injured dozens of others after driving his car into a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville has received a life sentence on federal hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to 29 hate crime charges in the attack that killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured 35 people who were protesting a white supremacist rally in August 2017, NBC News reports. Fields pleaded guilty as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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