Virginia rally victim's message of peace “magnified”, mother tells memorial

Heather Heyer, 32, who was killed by a suspected white nationalist who crashed his car into anti-racist protesters, was devoted to social justice. Her mother says they tried to “to shut her up. Well guess what? You just magnified her.”

Car attack victim Heather Heyers coworker Alfred Wilson speaks about her at a memorial service for Heyer at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 16, 2017.
Reuters

Car attack victim Heather Heyers coworker Alfred Wilson speaks about her at a memorial service for Heyer at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 16, 2017.

With tears and defiant tributes, hundreds of purple-clad people packed an historic Charlottesville theatre on Wednesday to remember the 32-year-old woman killed when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into anti-racist demonstrators.

Heather Heyer, a paralegal whom colleagues said was devoted to social justice, was killed after clashes on Saturday between white nationalists attending a “Unite the Right” gathering and counter-protesters.  The white supremacists were rallying to keep the statue of pro-slavery Confederate leader Robert E Lee. James Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man, has been charged with her murder.

“They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well guess what? You just magnified her,” Heyer’s mother Susan Bro said to long and loud applause from those gathered at the city’s 1930s-era Paramount Theater.

Bro told the audience that her daughter’s favourite Facebook post was “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”

“She paid attention. And she made a lot of us pay attention,” Bro said. “I want this to spread. I don’t want this to die. This is just the beginning of Heather’s legacy.”

Reuters

Sign on the statue of Robert E Lee calls for the park to be renamed for Heather Heyer, who was killed at in a far-right rally, in Charlottesville, Virginia, US. August 16, 2017.

With tears and defiant tributes, hundreds of purple-clad people packed an historic Charlottesville theatre on Wednesday to remember the 32-year-old woman killed when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into anti-racist demonstrators.

Heather Heyer, a paralegal whom colleagues said was devoted to social justice, was killed after clashes on Saturday between white nationalists attending a "Unite the Right" gathering and counter-protesters. James Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man, has been charged with her murder.

"They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well guess what? You just magnified her," Heyer's mother Susan Bro said to long and loud applause from those gathered at the city's 1930s-era Paramount Theater.

Bro told the audience that her daughter's favourite Facebook post was "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

"She paid attention. And she made a lot of us pay attention," Bro said. "I want this to spread. I don't want this to die. This is just the beginning of Heather's legacy."

TRT World’s John Brain reports.

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Hundreds of people held lit candles and sang songs of love and fellowship in Charlottesville later on Wednesday evening to remember Heather Heyer at what was billed as a vigil for unity.

Amid concerns trouble could erupt outside Wednesday’s memorial, a small group of anti-racist protesters wearing pink helmets and carrying baseball bats and purple shields stood quietly near the theatre.

One of the group, who declined to be identified, said they brought weapons to defend themselves in case the white supremacists returned.

“The cops didn’t protect us on Saturday and we don’t trust them to do so today,” the group member said.

Also outside the theatre, near where Heather Heyer was killed, artist Sam Welty was chalking a large portrait of her on a memorial wall that features many tributes to her.

“The way she lost her life, doing what she did, really stood for Charlottesville,” said Welty, 42.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump described Heyer as “beautiful and incredible ... a truly special young woman. She will be long remembered by all!”

Reuters

An artist looks at a mural of car attack victim Heather Heyer prior to a memorial service for Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 16. 2017.

“Philly is Charlottesville”

Thousands of people on Wednesday marched through the streets of Philadelphia in a rally dubbed “Philly is Charlottesville” to show support for the people who stood against white supremacist demonstrators during a deadly protest in the southern city last weekend.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said both sides were to blame for the violence, drawing condemnation from both fellow Republicans and Democrats for failing to single out the white nationalists.

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