A federal appeals court has mandated that white supremacist and nationalist groups involved in the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, must pay more than $2 million in punitive damages to individuals who suffered physical or emotional harm during the event.
In a separate ruling in 2021, a jury had already ordered white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay over $26 million in damages to rally victims.
The rally, which aimed to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, resulted in significant injuries and clashes between white nationalists and counter-protestors.
Following the initial jury decision, a judge reduced the punitive damages from $24 million to $350,000, meaning each of the eight plaintiffs would receive only $43,750.
However, a recent court decision to restore over $2 million of the slashed amount will now allow each plaintiff to receive approximately $350,000, as the appeals court found a state law capping punitive damages per person at $350,000.
Chief Judge Albert Diaz emphasized the importance of upholding the jury's original punitive damages award as a message against the misconduct in Charlottesville, stating, 'While the law compels us to reduce the award, it’s long past time for that message to be delivered.'
The rally turned violent when a white supremacist, James Alex Fields Jr., deliberately drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, resulting in one fatality and numerous injuries. Fields is currently serving a life sentence for murder and hate crimes.
Despite requests from the defendants to challenge the $350,000 cap on punitive damages, the 4th Circuit panel rejected the appeal, asserting that the law was clear enough to predict the Virginia high court's ruling.
The defendants' lawyers were not immediately available for comment on the recent court decision.
