The mother of Heather Heyer is suing the white supremacist who killed her daughter in 2017.
Heyer, 32, was killed by 22-year-old James Fields Jr. when he plowed his car into crowd of counterprotesters at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, said she filed the wrongful-death lawsuit not because she wants his “blood money,” but to ensure he will never profit from writing a book or selling rights to his story, according to the Daily Progress.
“We want to show others that there are serious consequences for actions of hatred and violence. This lawsuit is a way to continue to extinguish hatred,” said Bro, who is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
Fields was sentenced to life in prison in July by a Virginia judge. He was already sentenced to life prison for 29 federal hate crime charges stemming from the attack, which also wounded 35 people.
The lawsuit was filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court and names Fields as the only defendant, who is facing a litany of other lawsuits from victims. Bro, as well as Heyer’s father and brother, are listed as beneficiaries.
President Trump generated controversy for comments he made about the rally and subsequent attack. He was criticized for saying “both sides” were to blame in the violence. Trump later said that he was not referring to white supremacists, but rather to the attendees who “felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.”
