White nationalist groups must pay more than $2 million to victims of ‘Unite the Right’ rally, federal appeals court rules

CNN — A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that white supremacist and nationalist groups will have to pay a more than $2 million in punitive damages to people who suffered physical or emotional injuries from the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In Monday’s opinion, Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote, “… we vacate the district court’s order to the extent that it reduces the jury’s punitive damages to $350,000 for all plaintiffs under the Virginia punitive damages cap. And we remand with instructions that the district court apply the cap instead on a per-plaintiff basis.” Flowers surround a photo of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people protesting against the white supremacist Unite the Right rally, August 13, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. When the defendants requested the court ask the Supreme Court to question the $350,000 rule, the 4th Circuit panel rejected it and said the law was “clear enough to predict how Virginia’s high court would rule.” “Over two years ago, the jury used its $24 million punitive damages award to send an unmistakable message to the defendants and to the public about the outrageous misconduct that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia,” Diaz wrote in the 3-0 ruling.