MSNBC: Amy Spitalnick Interviewed on All in with Chris Hayes

IFA Executive Director Amy Spitalnick was interviewed on All In With Chris Hayes following the verdict in the Sines v. Kessler. 

Transcript

HAYES: Today, after deliberating for over three days, a jury concluded that nine counter-protesters are entitled to financial compensation from those very same white supremacists. Substantial compensation that awarding them more than $25 million in damages. However, the jury failed to reach a decision on two claims about whether the defendants had engaged in a race-based violent conspiracy which is illegal under a federal law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act.

Amy Spitalnick is the Executive Director of Integrity First for America, the organization that represented the plaintiffs and funded the lawsuit and she joins me now. Amy, first, I guess, your reaction to what was sort of a split verdict although all the -- all the claims that were found were found in the plaintiff`s favor. What was your reaction to that?

AMY SPITALNICK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTEGRITY FIRST FOR AMERICA: Look, at the end of the day, this is an overwhelming victory for our plaintiffs. The jury sent a very clear message that violent hate won`t go unanswered, that there will be accountability and there will be consequences.

They found the defendants liable for civil conspiracy, for racial religious ethnic harassment violence, and they found James Fields specifically liable for assault or battery and intentional affliction of emotional distress. And so, this was an overwhelming victory for our plaintiffs who have for the last four years fought tirelessly for some semblance of justice and accountability in the aftermath of Unite the Righ.t And I think it`s all the more crucial at a moment when we`ve seen such little accountability to get such a resounding large win against these extremists.

HAYES: It is 2021. You just mentioned this is four years in the making tell me about the origin of this lawsuit, how it came about, and how we`ve gotten to this day?

SPITALNICK: Absolutely. Look, four years is a long time. And it`s been a long hard road for our plaintiffs and our team but we are so incredibly proud of this outcome. In 2017, when Unite the Right happened, it was very clear from leaked social media chats and other evidence that came out in the immediate aftermath that what happened wasn`t accident but rather it had to have been planned carefully, meticulously in advance. And that was of course the premise of this lawsuit.

And so, within two months of Unite the Right, our plaintiffs filed this case alleging a racially motivated conspiracy to attack people based on their race, their religion, and their willingness to defend the rights of their neighbors. And we have an incredible legal team led by Karen Dunn, Robbie Kaplan, and so many others, and our plaintiffs, nine Charlottesville community members who were grievously injured, some during the torch march on Friday night including a number of UVA students, and many during the violence on Saturday including and especially the car attack where so many of our plaintiffs were very significantly injured.

And so, the idea here is a simple one. That if there is racial -- racist, anti-Semitic violence, there needs to be accountability. And that was all the more important at a moment when the DOJ led by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed unlikely to pursue these sorts of cases with any enthusiasm.

And so, we were incredibly proud to support the plaintiffs in bringing this case in October 2017. It took four years nearly to the day to get this to trial for a number of reasons including discovery challenges with some of the defendants, COVID, a global pandemic. But we got here. And certainly the verdict today sends a resounding clear message about the importance of this sort of accountability.

HAYES: It seems like there will be tangible material ramifications for the plaintiff -- for the defendants as well. I mean, these are individuals who I think entirely comprehensively did not have counsel. They represented themselves. I think that was a financial decision largely. And they have substantial damages that they now have to pay, right?

SPITALNICK: That`s right. So, actually, a number of the defendants did have representation but a few did not including fairly notorious white supremacist leaders Richard Spencer and Chris Cantwell.

HAYES: Right.

SPITALNICK: But even before this trial, we saw major financial impacts, operational impacts on these defendants. Our plaintiffs won five-figure financial sanctions against certain defendants for flouting court orders. Richard Spencer talked about how this case has financially devastated him. A number of the defendants talked about how this case had already dismantled some of their hate groups.

So, even before trial, we`ve seen the impact civil litigation like this can have. And now, with these multi-million dollar judgments, it will have a far-greater impact sending a very clear signal, of course, to the defendants. These are not just compensatory damages for our plaintiff`s injuries, but punitive damages meant to help deter them from doing something like this moving forward.

But it also sends a clear message to other extremists looking on that if they`re part of the sort of racist, anti-Semitic violent hate, there will be consequences.

HAYES: All right, Amy Spitalnick whose group secured a big victory today in that court in Charlottesville, Virginia, thank you for making some time with us.

SPITALNICK: Thank you so much, Chris.