Was Charlottesville Domestic Terrorism? This Law Firm Says It Was
Attorneys for the Miller Firm, based in Orange, Virginia, filed a lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of two sisters who said they were injured when their car was rammed during the “Unite the Right” rally last weekend in Charlottesville.
August 16, 2017 at 03:08 PM
6 minute read
A law firm known for its work on behalf of U.S. victims of international terrorism has taken on a case closer to home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Attorneys for the Miller Firm, based in Orange, Virginia, filed a lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of two sisters who said they were injured when their car was rammed during the “Unite the Right” rally last weekend in Charlottesville. The sisters, Tadrint and Micah Washington, claim the rally organizers and participating groups violated Virginia state laws against aiding acts of terrorism and by participating in a civil conspiracy.
The suit asks for a jury trial, $3 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
Courtesy photo
It's the Miller Firm's first case in which the alleged terrorists are U.S. nationals, though the firm is known for its fights against foreign entities providing material support to terrorists overseas. Timothy Litzenburg, one of the Washington sisters' lawyers, said the firm took the case as a result of circumstance, but it's a “natural fit” given the firm's experience.
The Washingtons are close friends of the firm's owners, Michael and Nancy Miller, who are based in McComb, Mississippi. The sisters are originally from Mississippi.
“You would not think that moving from southern Mississippi to Charlottesville would increase the chances that you're involved in a white supremacist riot,” Litzenburg said.
The man accused of driving the car, James Alex Fields Jr., was charged with the murder. Paralegal Heather Heyer, 32, died following the crash, and the FBI, U.S. Attorneys Office and Department of Justice Civil Rights division are investigating. On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions labeled the attack an act of domestic terrorism.
Litzenburg said the Miller Firm is “increasingly viewing [itself] as an anti-terror law firm.”
Jason Kessler, the rally's lead organizer and a defendant in the suit, was not immediately available for comment. Defendant Mike Peinovich, a white nationalist blogger who runs “The Right Stuff” podcast, said in an email he did not have a comment at this time. Peinovich is accused of aiding and promoting the rally.
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