Mother of Charlottesville suspect: 'I just knew he was going to a rally ...

[LeftofObama]

I thought it had something to do with Trump'

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/mother-charlottesville-suspect-just-knew-going-rally-thought-052807000--abc-news-topstories.html

The mother of the man who allegedly plowed into a group of people protesting a white nationalist rally Saturday in Virginia said she knew her son was attending a rally -- but she thought it was a rally for President Trump, not for white nationalists.

In an interview Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio, with The Associated Press, Samantha Bloom said of her son James Alex Fields Jr., "I just knew he was going to a rally. I mean, I try to stay out of his political views. You know, we don't, you know, I don't really get too involved, I moved him out to his own apartment, so we -- I'm watching his cat."

Bloom was informed by The AP reporter that the rally was indeed organized by white nationalists. "I thought it had something to do with Trump. Trump's not a white supremacist," she said.

"He had an African-American friend so ...," she said before her voice trailed off.

[rpannier]

1. She's his mom

What would we expect
She's gonna try and support him

It's gotta be a gut punch to see something like that and find out your son (or daughter) did it

[Alice11111]

3. Yeah, sad, she believed what she said...keep the cat, but

she will wake up. Poor mom, but someone taught her son those values.

In my house growing up with my children, things like that obviously weren't spoken. If we were in others housed, I would state that I didn't allow my children to hear such things. We would leave. Makes them feel like they are putting inappropriate porn out to the kids...and that's pretty much is it.The analogy works. It causes a ruckus, but we are clear.about what my lines are and they don't cross them again.

[crazycatlady]

21. I'm not sure how old your kids are

But this kid is 20. Born in 1997. I can't speak for his household, but he's never known life before the internet or the 24 hour news cycle (Fox debuted a year before he was born).

Many parents don't know what their kids are doing online.

[Alice11111]

26. She's 35 now, but she spent her teenage years on the internet

Not a racist bone in her body.

In watching the vigil last night, of all races, mainly of younger so integrated and together, I was thinking most of that generation were raised to abhor rascism, by those of us in a generation who fought it. Yet, some weren't. Also, one father and family disowned his son because his son wasn't raised racist, but was a part of the tiki march.

[MoonRiver]

2. He'll have a lot more black "friends" in federal prison.

Mother or not, she raised the monster, and is clearly a Chump supporter. Exhibit A: "Trump is not a white supremacist." Uh huh,

[Alice11111]

4. They only charged him w second degree murder. They did

NOT charge Him w attempted murder of the others. What's that about?
Is the DA being couched by Jeff Sessions?

Clearly, there is intent here for every one hurt, first degree.

[MoonRiver]

6. I think, hope, the charges will be upped before his trial.

And I agree, it should be first degree murder, plus 19 charges of attempted murder. The feds can get him for those charges too, plus hate crimes.

[AngryAmish]

16. To be charitable to the prosecutor, they may not have evidence today for 1st degree

Overcharging can get you to lose a case. If they can't prove intent (but I think they will) then you lose.

[MoonRiver]

18. Yes, that's how it works in the criminal justice system.

He is innocent until proven guilty, but my guess is that this cretin will never see the outside again.

[rpannier]

7. They'd never get a first degree conviction

My guess is, the judge wouldn't allow them to even try
1st Degree requires proof that it was pre-planned. That he attended that rally with the intent on killing people
That would be almost impossible to prove unless a manifesto of some kind (or a neighbor, co-worker or friend heard him say he was going to kill) turned up
It will be treated as a spur of the moment, extreme passion thing by the prosecution, which is the wise and legally correct thing to do
The bar on 1st degree is high and this doesn't seem to meet that requirement

[jovibennett]

10. Better to get him with something that will stick than try with charges

that he could walk on or get a lesser sentence. Can't he be tried for domestic terrorism? They need to up the charges as this progresses and make sure he never see's the outside of a prison. I am not a death penalty advocate in all cases but I think the world could do with one less Nazi supporter out there- WV has the death penalty

[obamanut2012]

11. Exactly -- it was a smart charge

And, he'll get hit with a Fed hate crime, too.

[whopis01]

13. That is incorrect

You said that they would have to prove "That he attended that rally with the intent on killing people"

Premeditation does not have to exist for any length of time prior to committing the act. It can be formed in the immediate moment before the act. Certainly no one would have to prove that he went to the rally with this intention.

In the appeal of Epperly v. Commonwealth the Virginia Supreme Court found this to be the case. They also determined that factors such as the brutality of the attack, whether more than one blow was struck, and the disparity in size and strength between the victim and assailant could be used as factors determining premeditation.

There is even a chance that this will be determined to be an act of terrorism - particularly given the rise in the use of vehicles as weapons in terrorist attacks elsewhere. If it is determined to be terrorism, then it will also qualify as first degree murder.

[irisblue]

15. Driving more then 8 hrs, near 545 miles seems to show some type of intention

The FBI & Virginia State Police are going to be very busy with that guy.

[Ms. Toad]

20. That's not what premedication means.

Premeditation can occur in the seconds it takes to realize it can be used as a weapon, and decide on the spur of the moment to use it as one.

States may use slightly different versions (Ohio uses prior calculation and design) that requires:

"studied care in planning or analyzing the means of the crime, as well as a scheme compassing the death of the victim. Neither the degree of care nor the length of time the offender takes to ponder the crime beforehand are critical factors in themselves, but they must amount to more than momentary deliberation, more than mere seconds"

Even under Ohio's stricter standard it would not require anything as extreme as deciding to go to the rally to kill people. It could easily have been formed after he got to the rally, and could take as little as being outside of his car seeing the crowd and formalizing a scheme in his mind to use the car as a weapon for the purpose of killing some of the counter-protestors, getting in his car, and carrying it out.

The trick will be not that he devised the scheme on the spot, but proving that his intent when driving in the crowd was to kill someone. Generally second degree includese a lesser intent - permitting less than actual intent - but acting with the knowledge that the actions taken would more than likely result in death.

(All states have different criminal statutes and define things slightly differently - but Ohio is near the far end of the spectrum for pre-planning, so I doubt the lack of pre-planning will be a barrier to 1st degree murder; more likely the lack of (being able to prove) a specific intent to kill, rather than merely to cause mayhem and injure.)

[Alice11111]

27. I think it does. You drive a speeding car into a crowd.

It's not like getting into a bar figjt, losing it and pulling a gun...that's second degree. Obviously, the prosecutor knows more about his potential jury pool than I do. I just hope it isn't because the DA is slightly sympathetic. After all, look at our Prez and AG

[obamanut2012]

9. It was a smart charge - and, he will be charged with a Federal hate crime

No way that won't happen.

I am 100% anti DP, but he has a good chance of getting put on death row for this.

[Scarsdale]

5. Really?

Then why do his closest friends support racism? Bannon and Gorka are rabid racists. tRump is friends with ANYONE who can get him loans (like Vlad), supply him with young women, or kiss his flabby orange arse.

[canetoad]

8. She doesn't seem genuine

Allbright rally? She knew what he was doing.

[JI7]

12. She is so full of shit and a fucking bigot herself

[Alice11111]

28. Any parent, upon hearing that, would burst into tears, or

be visibly upset. She's acting like he had a minor car wreck. She's not as uninformed as she pretends to be.

[Raster]

14. Deep down, aside from the denial...

... parents know what kind of people their children are. They know.

[dalton99a]

17. "Trump's not a white supremacist"

'Nuf said.

[Lee-Lee]

19. Honestly this easily falls under Federal Domestic Terroism statutes

(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

It was clearly an act intended to intimidate a civilian population.

Whole of course Sessions will never prosecute it as such, luckily the statute of limitations is longer than Trunps term so the next Administration hopefully will. And all his buddies too.

[HAB911]

22. Trump, not for white nationalists.

Same difference dumbass

She must be a real Einstein

[Alice11111]

29. ...but he had a black friend, obviously Carson

[oppressedproletarian]

23. Loser mom raises loser son

Like breeds like

[MrsCoffee]

24. Try to stay out of his politics my ass. "Trump's not a white supremacist"

"He had an African-American friend so.....". Apparently she realized how fucking lame that was as her voice trailed off.

I bet his parents are Trumpers. She knew he was going to an alt-right rally and is playing dumb.

[Alice11111]

30. !!!

[tanyev]

25. She's half right. That rally did have something to do with Trump.