Status: 
Case Filed

The Charlottesville Case

In August 2017, hundreds of white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis invaded Charlottesville, Virginia.

On August 11, they marched with torches and surrounded a group of students and community members on the University of Virginia campus. White supremacists pushed, punched, and threw lighted torches. Religious leaders at a nearby church sheltered in place fearing that they would be next.

On August 12, white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched military-style to Emancipation Park, shouting racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic slurs. They charged through a line of interfaith clergy. They attacked and assaulted countless citizens. After police dispersed them, James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of peaceful protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others.

With this lawsuit, Charlottesville is fighting back. This case sends a message to every hate group in the country: Americans will not give in to violence and hate. We will defend the dignity and equality of all people. And we will ensure this never happens again.

July 10 2018
News Coverage
Vice: Judge allows federal lawsuit against 25 neo-Nazis to proceed for violence in Charlottesville
May 25 2018
News Coverage
ThinkProgress: White supremacists behind violent Charlottesville rally face lawsuit with major implications
May 01 2018
News Coverage
Newsweek: Anonymous white nationalists may have their identities exposed in lawsuit over Charlottesville, Virginia, violence
Michael Peinovich
March 14 2018
News Coverage
Buzzfeed: A white nationalist who was sued over Charlottesville posted online about destroying information
March 09 2018
News Coverage
Vox: The alt-right is going on trial in Charlottesville
Cavalier Daily | Chandler Collins
February 28 2018
News Coverage
The Forward: David Duke to judge: I won't hand over my Charlottesville emails
February 12 2018
News Coverage
NYTimes: Planners of deadly Charlottesville rally are tested in court
February 09 2018
News Coverage
Op-Ed: White nationalist can't find a lawyer to defend him for Charlottesville
January 31 2018
News Coverage
Buzzfeed: Richard Spencer said he couldn't find a lawyer to defend him against a lawsuit about the violence in Charlottesville
October 26 2017
Blog
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) cites Charlottesville lawsuit
October 17 2017
News Coverage
Wash Post: Roberta Kaplan takes on the neo-Nazis and other bigots who terrorized Charlottesville
October 15 2017
News Coverage
MSNBC: Joy Reid interviews Roberta Kaplan and Charlottesville plaintiff
October 12 2017
News Coverage
Slate: Lawyers vs. white supremacists
October 12 2017
Press Releases
IFA funds major lawsuit against hate groups involved in Charlottesville

Timeline

November 13, 2018: Court Allows Discovery to Proceed with Imaging of Defendants' Devices and Social Media Accounts

In an important victory for Plaintiffs, the court compelled Defendants to hand over devices and social media accounts to be imaged, a critical step in the discovery process. 

July 9, 2018: Court Rejects Defendants' Motions to Dismiss 

In a "huge victory" for Plaintiffs, the federal district court issued a 62-page decision rejecting Defendants' motions to dismiss. 

May 24, 2018: Arguments on Motions to Dismiss

The federal district court in Charlottesville heard oral arguments on Defendants' motions to dismiss the case.

May 17, 2018: David Duke Ordered to Produce Documents

A federal court in Louisiana ordered former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, a non-party, to produce documents in response to Plaintiffs' subpoena.

March 15, 2018: Default Entered Against Five Defendants 

Plaintiffs obtained entries of default against five defendants, including neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin and the East Coast Knights of the KKK. 

January 5, 2018: Amended Complaint Filed

Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, including two new named plaintiffs who were injured by Defendant James Alex Fields.

October 11, 2017: Complaint Filed

Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against white supremacists and hate groups for conspiring and causing violence in Charlottesville. The complaint alleged violations of the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act and various state laws.

July 10 2018
News Coverage
Vice: Judge allows federal lawsuit against 25 neo-Nazis to proceed for violence in Charlottesville
May 25 2018
News Coverage
ThinkProgress: White supremacists behind violent Charlottesville rally face lawsuit with major implications

The Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs are ten members of the Charlottesville community. They include parents and students, businesspeople, a Christian minister, and others who peacefully protested when white supremacists invaded their hometown. Plaintiffs were specifically targeted on the basis of their race, religion, and ethnicity or because they stood up for the safety and civil rights of others. Plaintiffs were injured by the Defendants, including three who were hurt when James Alex Fields, Jr., drove his car into a crowd of peaceful protesters. As stated in the Complaint, Plaintiffs hope "to ensure that nothing like this will happen again at the hands of Defendants—not on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, and not anywhere else in the United States of America."

Charlottesville Residents Decry White Supremacist Rally
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The Defendants

Defendants are 25 prominent white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and hate groups that planned, promoted, and executed the violent acts in Charlottesville. They came with clubs and shields, pistols and assault rifles, helmets and pepper spray. Defendants killed one woman and injured dozens more. They did not come to protest peacefully. They came with a plan to provoke violence.

Defendants include Jason Kessler, a white nationalist who led the organizing efforts, Richard Spencer, a white nationalist who believes in "ethnic cleansing," Matthew Heimbach, a white nationalist who said, "Of course we look up to men like Adolf Hitler," and James Alex Fields Jr., as well as hate groups like the Traditionalist Worker Party, Identity Evropa, and the League of the South.

Loyal White Knights Rally
Learn More About Defendants (Coming Soon)

The Legal Case

After the Civil War, Congress passed laws to guarantee the civil rights of black Americans and combat the Ku Klux Klan’s reign of terror in the South. In their complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants, motivated by racism and bigotry, conspired to commit assault, battery, and other acts of violence and intimidation in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the KKK Act of 1871, and numerous Virginia laws. Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief.

Learn More

Key Documents

Legal Team

IFA is providing financial support for plaintiffs in this historic case. They are represented by two nationally-recognized law firms. Lead counsel includes:

Roberta Kaplan

Roberta Kaplan

Partner, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, LLP

Roberta (“Robbie”) Kaplan is the founding partner of Kaplan Hecker & Fink, LLP. Robbie is a nationally renowned attorney, who has been described as a “powerhouse corporate litigator” and a “litigation superstar.” In addition to her work on behalf of clients like J.P. Morgan Chase, Fitch Ratings, and Columbia University, Robbie is perhaps best known for successfully representing Edith Windsor in her historic challenge to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act before the United States Supreme Court, which found the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional for discriminating against married same-sex couples. 

Robbie received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Law Journal, and has been recognized by The National Law Journal as one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers” in the United States, as “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer, as “Lawyer of the Year” by Above the Law, and as the “Most Innovative Lawyer of The Year” by The Financial Times. She received the National Council of Jewish Women Social Action Award; Columbia Law School Medal of Excellence; Stanford Law School National Public Service Award; New York County Lawyers' Association President's Medal and the American Constitutional Society Keeping Faith Award. She also holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Johns Hopkins University and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Pace University, and Millsaps College.

Before founding Kaplan Hecker & Fink, Robbie was a litigation partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. Robbie is the author of numerous articles on a variety of legal topics as well as the book Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA. Robbie is also an adjunct professor of law at Columbia Law School.

Karen Dunn

Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Karen Dunn is a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, and focuses her practice on high-profile civil litigation and trials as well as crisis management - helping her clients solve their biggest problems both in and out of the courtroom. She has received broad recognition for her work, and was recently named one of the National Law Journal's Outstanding Women Lawyers, Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer and Global Competition Review, one of 10 Most Compelling Women in Washington D.C. by Elle magazine, one of the top 250 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation, and one of America's 500 Leading Lawyers by Lawdragon.

An accomplished trial lawyer and courtroom advocate, Karen has been recently recognized for winning significant judgments and jury verdicts for several of America’s top technology companies, representing former government officials in high-profile investigations, and winning a two-year pro bono legal battle in local and federal courts to enforce Washington D.C.'s Local Budget Autonomy Act.

Prior to joining Boies Schiller, Karen served in all three branches of government. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, she tried to jury verdict numerous multi-defendant cases and led complex investigations. She has served as an Associate White House Counsel, representing the Executive Office of the President in congressional investigations and overseeing litigation. Earlier in her career, Karen was a law clerk to Judge Merrick B. Garland of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and to Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S.

Julie Fink

Julie Fink

Partner, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, LLP

Julie Fink is a partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink, LLP. She previously worked as in-house counsel at Pfizer Inc. and as an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Julie has maintained a broad civil litigation practice, including product liability and mass tort, employment class action, regulatory, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, consumer fraud, complex commercial and antitrust litigation. She has also maintained an active civil rights practice and was a key member of the team representing Edith Windsor in her successful challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. She has been awarded the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award and Immigration Equality’s Safe Haven Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Representation. 

Julie sits on the board of Gay Men’s Health Crisis and is a member of the Pro Bono Advisory Council for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. She was a law clerk for the Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano in the Eastern District of New York.

William A. Isaacson

Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

William ("Bill") Isaacson is a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Since joining the firm at its inception in 1997, Bill’s main practice area has been complex commercial litigation, including both civil trials and arbitration. Bill is a 2015 American Lawyer Litigator of the Year, a three-time winner of The AmLaw Litigator of the Week, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Global Competition Review writes, "Arguably no antitrust lawyer in recent memory has had as much success for both plaintiffs and defendants as Boies Schiller partner Bill Isaacson.”

In 2015, after a three-week jury trial in the District of Nevada, Bill–together with BSF co-counsel Karen Dunn–won a $50 million verdict, later increased to $124 million in a judgment, for Oracle for software copyright infringement and state law violations. In 2014, in O’Bannon v. NCAA, he won significant attention for his cross-examinations of NCAA witnesses, obtaining a historic victory for college athletes. In the same year, Bill served as trial counsel, with Karen Dunn, in a high-profile antitrust class action in the portable music industry, winning a complete defense verdict. In 2013, Bill was also trial counsel in the first antitrust action against Chinese companies for cartel conduct relating to products sold in the United States, winning a $162 million judgment, and $33 million from settling defendants.

Bill has been listed as one of the 500 leading lawyers in the U.S. by the publication Lawdragon. Bill was also named a Competition MVP and Titan of the Plaintiff Bar by Law360, and a Litigator of the Week by Global Competition Review. Legal 500 describes him as a “leader” at the firm “with many successes to his credit” who has a "brilliant knowledge of international arbitration."