6 Takeaways From The 'Unite The Right' Trial In Charlottesville So Far

LOADING ERROR LOADING An unsavory array of right-wing figures appeared in a Charlottesville, Virginia, federal court this week, marking the third straight week of trial proceedings in an ambitious, long-running civil lawsuit against a dozen individuals and groups accused of planning the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017. The nine plaintiffs in the suit — which was brought by the nonprofit Integrity First for America — and their legal team aim to bankrupt some of the most influential names on the fringe right “to ensure,” their complaint says, “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.” Among those facing substantial financial damages in the suit, two ― white nationalists Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell ― are each representing themselves, and are doing a solid job racking up rebukes from Judge Norman K. Moon. Like other defendants, Cantwell has suggested that much of his online discussions and messages were made in jest ― that even remarks about “gassing” Jewish people were part of a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. “When is a racist joke just a joke?” Cantwell asked Simi, who explained that the nature of white supremacist language ― which he said engages in doublespeak ― meant that it was never really “just a joke.” Defendants aired noxious views and name-checked “Mein Kampf” in court. One particularly cringeworthy moment came when Cantwell rose to cross-examine Heimbach and asked, “What’s your favorite Holocaust joke?” There was a pause before Cantwell withdrew the question, and both men laughed.