Judge mulls motion to dismiss Charlottesville rally lawsuit

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A federal judge is mulling arguments from white nationalists and others that a civil rights lawsuit against them over last summer’s violence in Charlottesville should be dismissed.

A hearing on motions from a number of defendants was held Thursday in federal court in Charlottesville. The judge didn’t immediately rule.

The lawsuit was filed in October by Virginians who said they were injured as a result of the August events. It alleges the defendants conspired to commit violence under the pretext of a rally.

Among the defendants who filed motions to dismiss are rally organizer Jason Kessler and white nationalist Richard Spencer.

James Fields, the man accused of driving into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman, is also named in the lawsuit. He did not file a motion to dismiss.