Who Is James Alex Fields Jr? Man Allegedly Drives Into Charlottesville Protesters

A man named James Alex Fields Jr. has been identified and accused of killing one woman and injuring 19 others when he allegedly drove a speeding car into a group of people Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The crowd was protesting a gathering of far-right activists who came to the city for an event called “Unite the Right,” starting on Friday. The far-right protesters focused on the possible removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a park in the city. Pockets of violence erupted throughout the city as white nationalists, white supremacists and neo-nazis clashed with their detractors, igniting in a flashpoint with the vehicular attack.

The woman killed was identified as a 32-year-old named Heather Heyer.

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Fields, 20, was charged with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and failure to stop after an accident. Originally from Kentucky, Fields, moved to Ohio and lived in Maumee, according to the New York Times Sunday.

Fields entered the Army for a short period of just under four months in 2015.

Fields was photographed earlier on Saturday before the incident with other far-right people during their rally. Fields brandished symbols of a group called Vanguard America, a white-supremacy group. Vanguard America denied Field’s involvement with the group in a statement on Twitter.

“The driver of the vehicle that hit counterprotesters today was, in no way, a member of Vanguard America,” read the statement. “All our members had been safely evacuated by the time of the incident. The shields seen do not denote membership, nor does the white shirt. The shirts were freely handed out to anyone in attendance.”

Fields was apprehended shortly after the crash by Virginia police.

The violence saw widespread condemnation by politicians, many of whom directed ire towards the hateful ideologies espoused by many of the far-right marchers.

“The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice. When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated,” said Attorney General Jess Sessions.

President Donald Trump also reacted but was criticized for not directly calling out groups who supported bigotry at the rally.

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“We are closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It has been going on for a long time in our country -- not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. It has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America,” said Trump to reporters Saturday.

Local authorities, the F.B.I. and Justice Department are all continuing investigations into the car crash and other violence Charlottesville over the weekend.