Deadly Charlottesville car attack: What we know

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Here's what we know about the deadly car attack on people protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017:

What happened? One person was killed and 19 others were hurt on Aug. 12 after a man in a silver Dodge Challenger drove into people protesting the white nationalist Unite the Right rally.

According to the Huffington Post, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, near Toledo, was charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of failing to stop at an accident resulting in a death.

The murder charges was later upgraded to first-degree murder. Fields is also facing several hate crime charges.

Authorities identified Heather Heyer as the 32-year-old woman killed when Fields plowed into anti-racist protesters at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, The Associated Press reported. She was killed as she crossed the street.

Heyer's death wasn't the only one linked to the rally. Virginia State Police Lt. H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates, 40, were killed when their helicopter crashed after being deployed to the area, The Associated Press reported.

Charlottesville police said that in addition to the 19 hurt in the car attack, 16 others were injured in rally-related violence, according to USA Today.

Police arrested several other people in connection with the violence at the rally. The AP reported that Jacob L. Smith, of Louisa, Virginia, charged with assault and battery; Troy Dunigan, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was charged with disorderly conduct; and James M. O'Brien, of Gainesville, Florida, was charged with carrying a concealed handgun. Dennis Lloyd Mothersbaugh, of Indiana, was also charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, according to WVIR.

The news station reported that Smith and Mothersbaugh pleaded guilty last year. A judge gave Smith, who was accused of striking a reporter, a suspended 270-day sentence and ordered him to complete 80 hours of community service, according to WVIR. Motherbaugh, who was accused of assaulting a man seen in a viral video from the demonstration, was sentenced to serve 360 days in jail, with 100 of the days suspended, the news station reported.

President Donald Trump's response to the violence sparked criticism. He attempted to right the situation in a news conference after the Unite the Right rally, condemning "the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups."

"Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything that we hold dear as Americans," the president said. "To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend's racist violence, you will be held fully accountable.”

Watch his remarks below:

Trump had earlier blamed "many sides" for Saturday's violence.

"It has been going on for a long time in our country – not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama," the president said Saturday. "It has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America."

Watch his remarks below:

Trump also tweeted about the violence:

Many political figures – including fellow Republicans – criticized Trump for failing to call out white supremacists by name or use the word "terrorism."

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