The Latest on the trial of a man accused of deliberately driving his car into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally, killing one and injuring dozens more. (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
Jurors in the trial of a man accused of driving into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally have viewed a meme he posted on Instagram showing bodies thrown into the air after a car hits a crowd of people.
An FBI staff operations specialist who analyzed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of James Alex Fields Jr. testified Tuesday that Fields posted the meme publicly to his Instagram page and sent a similar image as a private message to a friend in May 2017. That was three months before his car plowed into a group of people marching against white nationalists in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.
One counterprotester was killed and dozens more were injured.
Fields’ lawyers had argued that the memes were unfairly prejudicial to Fields, but prosecutors said they show his state of mind. Judge Richard Moore allowed the jury to see the images.
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1:05 p.m.
A judge is allowing jurors to see a text message including an image of Adolf Hitler that was sent by the man who drove into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.
News outlets report Judge Richard Moore ruled Tuesday that prosecutors can show the text James Alex Fields Jr. sent his mother days before the 2017 rally. It was a response to his mother’s plea to be careful. Fields wrote “we’re not the one (sic) who need to be careful,” accompanied by Hitler’s image.
Fields’ attorneys argued that the image would prejudice the jury. But the judge said it shows intent or motive of violence.
Fields, of Maumee, Ohio, is charged with killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens with his car.
