Charlottesville Verdict a Win for Human Rights

WASHINGTON D.C. –– This afternoon’s verdicts in the civil case against the people and organizations that marshaled the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally is a significant victory against violent white extremism.

“The white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists who conspired to mainstream hate have always been morally bankrupt, our hope is this ruling literally bankrupts their organizations so that they can no longer spew racism or perpetrate violence,” said Michael Breen, President and CEO of Human Rights First. “This jury showed that violent extremism should have no place in a democracy like ours. And we salute the bold persistence of our allies at Integrity First for America, who so ably represented plaintiffs in this case.”

Human Rights First works to hold accountable violent extremists and anti-democratic actors, and has worked extensively with Integrity First of America to fight antisemitism in America and unite against Nazis. We have called for justice for the extremist violence in Charlottesville since it occurred and published an op-ed and other posts to note its anniversaries.

We participated in several United Against Hate rallies in response to Charlottesville violence and members of our Veterans for American Ideals (VFAI) project have been at the forefront of efforts to monitor and hold accountable violent white extremists like those who killed Heather Heyer and injured four others in Charlottesville.