Closing arguments pending in Charlottesville’s Unite the Right civil lawsuit
Fourteen people and 10 white supremacist and nationalist organizations are named in the lawsuit that sparked the lawsuit. The organizers of the rally are accused of having participated in a plot to commit violence. The plaintiffs, who include townspeople and counter-protesters injured in clashes, seek “compensatory and statutory†damages for the physical and emotional injuries they suffered.
Lawyer Roberta Kaplan, representing the plaintiffs in the case, kicked off Thursday by telling the jury: “It is up to you to demonstrate loud and clear, contrary to what you may have heard, that nothing it is all funny and none of it is a joke, â€Kaplan said.
Kaplan says they saw and heard 36 witnesses and subjected to hard-to-watch videos.
Kapan thanked the jurors for their time and patience, especially after seeing such traumatic videos time and time again, and that they should have no problem holding them responsible “under the law, the facts and the law. meaning, â€Kaplan said.
Dunn went on to say, “He was there because he had a huge number of armed extremists. Dunn said of Cantwell,” he could promote, facilitate and execute violence. ”
She shows the jury how the organizers called for shields and bring in other weapons, such as flag poles and pepper spray, which they called “gas”.
Dunn also showed other posts from other white supremacists who support the idea that protesters on the streets should be run over, “It’s reasonable predictability,” Dunn said, adding that all members are responsible for it.
“The evidence in this case is crystal clear that this plan went according to plan,” Dunn said, showing a video of the accused Richard Spencer declaring victory in front of the statue.
Dunn told jurors: “All we have to show is a common goal to cause racist violence.”
She explains that many defendants claim they didn’t know what was going on or that they didn’t know each other, “it doesn’t matter, they’re still part of the plot,” Dunn said.
“It was about the use of force, it was about occupying space and that was the plan for the Battle of Charlottesville,†Dunn said.
Speaking about the violence that took place that day, Dunn said: “The defendants beat them with lighted torches, they walked through them using their bodies…†Dunn continued, “they plowed through them. people with their cars. These are all versions of the same thing, “Dunn said.
“These defendants thought they had a right to overthrow them,†Dunn said.
And at the heart of this civil case is the conspiracy complaint against the defendants to which Dunn addressed: “These are the people involved in this conspiracy,” Dunn said. “Have a rally. We didn’t. We have sued the officials, the leaders, the promoters, the group leaders, the people who bought the army, the people who were the most violent members of the army. These are the people we ask you to keep. responsible today, â€Dunn said.
CNN’s Mark Morales reported from Charlottesville. Steve Almasy has reported and written from Atlanta. CNN’s Amir Vera contributed to this report.