Charlottesville case: Man pleads guilty to hate crimes for ploughing car into crowd

People fly into the air in August 2017 as a vehicle is driven into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photo / AP file

An avowed neo-Nazi who killed one woman and injured 35 others when he ploughed his car into a group of counterprotesters at an infamous rally in Charlottesville pleaded guilty to hate crimes in US federal court.

James Fields, 25, of Ohio was convicted on 29 of 30 counts as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to not seek the death penalty in a case that has come to symbolise the violent public resurgence of white supremacy across the US.

The deal was approved by US Attorney-General William Barr, prosecutors said.

Fields was convicted in state court and sentenced to life in prison in December for first-degree murder and other counts for killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring dozens at the chaotic Unite the Right rally on August 12, 2017.

Fields entered the courtroom in a grey and white jumpsuit and handcuffs. Pleading guilty to hate crimes marks a dramatic shift for Fields, whose lawyers argued during his trial in state court that he sped towards the crowd out of fear for his safety and confusion. They said he immediately regretted his actions.

Jeff Sessions, US Attorney-General at the time, said in June that it was important to send an unambiguous message that hateful violence would not be tolerated, when the 30-count federal indictment was announced against Fields.

"At the Department of Justice, we remain resolute that hateful ideologies will not have the last word and that their adherents will not get away with violent crimes against those they target," Sessions said in a statement then.

Fields travelled more than 800km from his home to attend the Charlottesville rally, which generated national media attention after rallygoers carrying Nazi flags and shouting racial epithets clashed violently with counterprotesters. Police eventually dispersed the groups.

James Alex Fields. Photo / AP file

A short time later, Fields was seen driving his grey Dodge Charger up to a group of counterprotesters on a narrow street. He slowly backed up and then accelerated down a hill, driving directly into the group.

Video, which was played at Fields' trial, shows protesters tumbling and screaming as the car slams into the group. Fields then reverses quickly, hitting and dragging others. Someone repeatedly says: "Oh god, Oh god."

Heyer was killed, and others were seriously wounded. One woman who limped to the stand at Fields' state trial testified she had five surgeries and was expecting a sixth. Another described a broken pelvis and a third how he pushed his fiance out of the way before he was struck by Fields' car.

US President Donald Trump's comments in the wake of the violence that there were "very fine people" on both sides of the Charlottesville rally sparked intense criticism and touched off a conversation about race and far-right groups.