until a car driven by neo-nazi james fields plowed into a crowd, killing heather heyer. >> the goal oflawsuits, first and foremost, is justice for our plaintiffs and accountability for those responsible for the violence four years ago. >> reporter: amy spitalnick is the executive director of integrity first for america, when brought the lawsuits on behalf of some of the victims will of the violence. >> the facts are clear: there was a conspiracy motivated by racism. >> reporter: the plaintiffs believe they will prove their case by highlighting social media chats and text messages. >> i think ultimately, charlottesville was good for our movement. >> reporter: among the defendants, richard spencer, one of the rally organizers, will claim there was no conspiracy and they had a first amendment right to protest. but messages between spencer and rally organizer and defend jason kessler reveal this exchange: "we're raising an army for free speech but the cracking of skulls, if it comes to it." the violence that day haunts liz signs. >> i heard screams. i heard this awful sound. >> reporter: o

i take it as an obligation and a responsibility to share my story because unlike heather heyer, you know, i'm able to share my story as my own person and on my own behalf. luckily heather has her mother, susan and other folks around there to advocate on her behalf, but as a survivor and one of the lucky ones, i'm here to share my story. >> what should we understand -- i mean, obviously you're now a practicing civil rights lawyer yourself. you have been through this process through a very unusual circumstance given what you went through. what should we understand? what should the country understand about this strategy, about using civil litigation, in which the victim, as the plaintiff goes after the perpetrators through civil litigation to bankrupt them, make them literally pay for what they have done. how should we understand that in terms of its overall effectiveness against these kinds of crimes or behavior, but also what kind of difference it makes to victims? >> absolutely. so civil litigation is just one of the many tools available to survivors of hate incidents and hate crimes. to

until a car driven by neo-nazi james fields plowed into a crowd, killing heather heyer. >> the goal oflawsuits, first and foremost, is justice for our plaintiffs and accountability for those responsible for the violence four years ago. >> reporter: amy spitalnick is the executive director of integrity first for america, when brought the lawsuits on behalf of some of the victims will of the violence. >> the facts are clear: there was a conspiracy motivated by racism. >> reporter: the plaintiffs believe they will prove their case by highlighting social media chats and text messages. >> i think ultimately, charlottesville was good for our movement. >> reporter: among the defendants, richard spencer, one of the rally organizers, will claim there was no conspiracy and they had a first amendment right to protest. but messages between spencer and rally organizer and defend jaso "we're raising an army for free speech but the cracking of skulls, if it comes to it." the violence that day haunts liz signs. >> i heard screams. i heard this awful sound. >> reporter: one of the plaintiffs who narrow

a counter protester heather heyer was killed.end enters say they were exercising their rights to free speech and self-defense. >>> the initial autopsy on laundrie did not reveal a cause of death. the skeletal remains were found in florida. and identified last week using dental records. he was a subject of a manhunt after his fiance gabby petito disappeared and was found dead in wyoming. a notebook found near the remains may be salvageable. >>> and ahead, tesla joins an elite club. what the company is now worth after the latest deal. joins an elite club. what the company is now worth after the latest deal. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire how did olay top expensive creams? like this matching your job description. with hydration that beats the $100 cream in every jar of regenerist retinol24 collagen peptide new vitamin c and the iconic red jar can't top this skin shop now at olay.com ♪ rich, indulgent chocolate with a luscious caramel filling. with love

a 32-year-old, heather heyer, was killed when a car drove into counterprotesters after the rally. >>>come back, the dramatic raid at a drug lord's jungle hideout. >>> and the death of an actor who played a fan favorite on "friends." what we're learning tonight. j. i asked for fluzone high-dose quadrivalent. it's the #1-used flu vaccine for people 65 and older. fluzone high-dose quadrivalent is the only vaccine approved by the fda for superior flu protection in adults 65+. i'm not letting my guard down. fluzone high-dose quadrivalent isn't for people who've had a severe allergic reaction to any flu vaccine or vaccine component, including eggs or egg products. tell your health care professional if you've ever experienced severe muscle weakness after receiving a flu shot. people with weakened immune systems, including those receiving therapies that suppress the immune system, may experience lower immune responses. vaccination may not protect everyone. side effects include pain, redness, and/or swelling where you got the shot, muscle ache, headache, and general discomfort. other side effe

james fields drove his car through a crowd of protesters injuring dozens and killing 32-year-old heather heyering up on "cbs mornings," award winning chef bryant terry stops by the studio with his new book. >>> i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive to dairy. so anyone who says lactaid isn't real milk is also saying mabel here isn't a real cow. and she really hates that. we do it every night. every night. mabel here isn't a real cow. i live alone, but i still do it every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher uses less than four gallons per cycle? while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water. >>> our top stories this morning -- the president's spending bill remains in limbo as he arrived

. >> reporter: one of the plaiplaintiffs who narrowly escd injury when the car hit heather heyer. >> i don't think i will ever not be scared. >> reporter: her name is on the court docket, signs v. kessler. the plaintiffs are going to use something called the ku klux klan act which was put on the books in 1800 toss combat attacks on african americans. norah. >> o'donnell: hard to believe. jeff pegues, thank you. tonight, top democrats insist a deal is close on president biden's massive social spending plan. but stumbling blocks keep piling up. most importantly, sharp differences over how to pay for the trillions in new spending. cbs' ed o'keefe is following the negotiations. >> reporter: tonight, hopes are fading for an agreement on president biden's sweeping social spending plan before he leaves tomorrow for europe. >> is getting a deal by tomorrow still realistic? >> yes. we'll see. >> reporter: but on capitol hill, demands from two key moderates, west virginia's joe manchin and arizona's kyrsten sinema, are slowing momentum towards an agreement. a major provision to extend paid lea

tell me how in a million years you could yell "you will not replace us" and kill heather heyer. >> you'reng that's often referred to as the ku klux klan act. it's a civil conspiracy procedure. you can't engage in a conspiracy designed to deny people local rights. we're a country that because of the first amendment, we let nazis march on the streets of skokie where there are many holocaust survivors who lived when they marched there prominently. you can't create violent incidents and seek to deprive people of their fundamental rights and that's exactly what happened in charlottesville during the united right rally. the lawyers positions are not argument, it's not evidence. they're giving the jury a taste of what the lawsuit is going to be about, and setting the context. the context this morning was very powerful. >> joyce, tell me in your view what the stakes are and how this trial ends up. >> it's important to know a little bit of history here, which is that the southern poverty law center took on the ku klux klan a couple of decades ago, very powerful and prominent in activism across the

one of them, 32-year-old paralegal heather heyer was killed. several others were injured.er forget watching them attack my fellow students or the feeling of running for my life. >> reporter: another plaintiff is natalie romero, the lawsuit says she was hit by fields's car, causing a skull fracture and a concussion. and marcus martin seen here in mid-air who said his leg was broken and he couldn't work for nine months. the lawsuit says social media posts and imagery by organizers suggested violence. discussions in their chat rooms of bringing guns, quote cracking skulls, even running over protestors. >> the lawsuit is replete with example after example after example of how these defendants and their co-conspirators intended to commit violence. comments like next stop charlottesville. final stop auschwitz. >> but the defendants who include some of america's most notorious white supremacists have several potential arguments against liability. that free speech is protected. that they are not responsible for the actions of others. and that the police failed to keep order. to wi

starts in a massive civil lawsuit involving nine people injured at that 2017 rally where a woman, heather heyerking financial compensation from organizers. it's a case that's already having an impact on white supremacy groups. joining me now, cynthia miller, author, "hate in the homeland: the new global far right." thank you very much for joining me. let's talk about the crux of this charlottesville case. what is the main argument being made against these two dozen or so organizers? because defendants say they have a right to free speech and any bloodshed stemmed from self-defense. >> hi, alex, it's great to see you again. this is a remarkable case. it's a historic case, because what you're seeing here is 150-year-old act, the ku klux klan act, being invoked to show that the organizers of this violence -- that the violence was not just spontaneous but it was planned and orchestrated in advance. so, you know, the defendants will try to claim that they have a free speech right. but free speech does not extend to incitement of violence and it stops when you're threatening people directly. the crux

neo-nazi james alex fields slammed his car into a crowd of anti-racist counter-protesters, killing heather heyerand injuring at leas35 others. fields was later sentenced to life in prison. those now charged in this civil trial for the violence in charlottesville include jason kessler, the main organizer and white supremacist richard spencer, who spoke at the event. the civil lawsuit cites an 1871 law known as the ku klux klan act, which allows private citizens to sue other citizens for civil rights violations. this is elizabeth sines, one of the plaintiffs in the case, speaking about what she witnessed. >> the memories from those days will junta be forhe rest ofy life. i will never forget what it was like to watch nazis marched on the campus i called home. own forg watching thettack my fellow students or the feeling of running for my life. i don't think anything can eve really prepare you to witss thing so horrific. watching your home be ovrun by people who wisto cause as much harm and wreak as much havoc as possible. amy: the lawsuit was filed by the civil rights group, integrity first for amer

now, four years after the horrific events that took the life of heather heyer, some charlottesville residents have filed a civil lawsuit and went to trial today alleging physical harm and emotional distress from the unite the right rally in august of 2017. a jury will ultimately decide whether the rally's organizers engaged in a conspiracy to commit violence. the plaintiffs are hoping the civil suit makes up for what they call a lack of accountability that paved the way for other forms of right-wing extremism, including, of course, january 6th. a member of the plaintiff's legal team summed it up like this. "one message of this case is that these events, like charlottesville, like january 6th, they are not spontaneous, flukish events that just happen. there's an enormous undercurrent of planning, of intent, and a purposefulness that we all need to wake up to." joining our conversation is msnbc political analyst, the former congresswoman, donna edwards and civil rights attorney and former prosecutor david henderson. i'm going to read from some of the reporting but i first want to ask both of yo

one of them, 32-year-old paralegal heather heyer was killed. several others were injured. one of the nine plaintiffs is liz signs who says fields' car almost hit her. >> i will never forget watching them attack my fellow students or the feeling of running for my life. >> reporter: another plaintiff is natalie romero. the lawsuit says she was hit by fields' car causing a skull fracture and concussion. and marcus martin, seen here in mid-air, who said his leg was broken and he couldn't work for nine months. the lawsuit says social media posts and imagery by organizers suggested violence. discussions in their chat rooms of bringing guns, quote, cracking skulls, even running over protesters. >> the lawsuit is replete with example after example after example of how these defendants and their coconspirators intended to commit violence. comments like, next up, charlottesville. final stop auschwitz. >> reporter: but the defendants who include some of america's most notorious white supremacists, have several potential arguments against liability, that free speech is protected. they

we lost heather heyer. i lost a pilot and member of my security detail.d there were good people on both sides. but people want to be lifted up. trump, his hate and division, he wants to run again in 2024. i think he wants to use this as a launchpad for that. that's pretty clear. that's why he's endorsed youngkin seven or eight times. seven or eight times. >> reporter: fred, i have to stress this is so -- such a shift for mcauliffe who made trump so much part of the race. mentioned him more than any other political figure. earlier he said this race is not about trump. his four months, five months of campaigning has very much been about trump. that is a significant shift here in the virginia race, and we're going to see if he continues to say that, continues to claim that throughout the day here in virginia beach and around the tidewater region, fred. >> we'll see whose voices are most influential, just days away. thank you so much. >>> and don't miss "election night in america" special live coverage starts tuesday at 6:00 p.m. here on cnn. ray loves vacati

one person, heather heyer, died, and was killed in the chaos that followed. elle reeve has more on this new legal battle. she was there that weekend. she stayed on this story ever since. >> jews will not replace us! jews will not replace us! >> i have never, ever seen anything like this. >> it was crazy. so violent. >> it was like a civil war happening. >> on a saturday morning. >> on a saturday morning. >> reporter: tanisha hudson and i came within a few feet of each other on the morning of the unite the right rally. hours before a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring many people. i interviewed her after. >> this is the face of supremacy. this is what we deal with every day being african-american. i just knew something bad was going to happen that day. i think free speech ends when violence begins, right? i can say what i want, i can't do what i want. >> that's at the center of a federal civil lawsuit against the organizers of the rally that goes to trial this week. >> many of the plaintiffs in our lawsuit were here that e

that anger led to violence and an avowed neo-nazi plowed his car into heather heyer. hate that was on display again this week during opening statements in the federal civil trial against organizers of that unite the right rally. don't forget trump's response in 2017 that there were, quote, fine people on both sides. if charlottesville happened today, would we, the american people, be as shocked now as we were then? for the past four years, far-right violence has become more widespread in part because that same frustration and hate has been harnessed to help the gop hold on to power. if that was not true, would ted cruz have gotten away with what he did this week, defending parents who gave nazi salutes at school board meetings. would attendees at gop events dare ask questions like this? >> at this point we're living under corporate and medical fascism. this is tyranny. when do we get to use the guns? literally, wheres the line? how many elections they going to steal before we kill these people? >> if it's not at a rally, it's inside a courtroom. last week when the tri