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A civil trial stemming from the deadly 2017 "Unite the Right" demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia began Monday (October 25), four years after white nationalists swept through the town with torches, killing one person and injuring dozens others.
A civil lawsuit against the organizers of the protest argues they knew the event would turn violent while planning it.
"There is one thing about this case that should be made crystal-clear at the outset –– the violence in Charlottesville was no accident," the lawsuit reads, per CNN.
Seven jurors were chosen to hear the case and decide if organizers purposefully planned in the northern Virginia town back in August 2017.
The 10 plaintiffs named in the case include Charlottesville residents, college students, and counter-protesters who say they suffered physically and emotionally from the violence of the event. In their lawsuit, they claim organizers engaged in a conspiracy and are seeking "compensatory and statutory" damages.
The "Unite the Right" rally was organized in response to the town's decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
During the rally, which spanned over the course of two days –– August 11 and 12 –– protesters chanted anti-Semitic throughout Charlottesville and the University of Virginia campus.
"Jews will not replace us," they were heard saying in the viral footage of the event.
The rally turned deadly when James Fields plowed his car through a crowd of counter-protesters killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer, and injuring dozens others.
Some of the rally organizers have faced criminal charges stemming from the deadly demonstration.
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