As the “Unite the Right” trial entered its third week, it became abundantly clear that all the Nazis who are being sued have left to protect themselves is whichever fellow defendant they think is more reprehensible than themselves. That became abundantly clear after Monday’s proceedings wrapped up and Tuesday kicked into high gear, culminating in Chris “Crying Nazi” Cantwell taking the stand while also answering to himself.
In a trial filled with self-serving moments from Cantwell, Tuesday’s display certainly took the cake. He read from his own blog posts, played clips of unaired interviews that added little to his own case, and pulled up audio from his own podcast in what mostly felt like an attempt to promote his brand. Cantwell seemed to miss the many moments that pointed to his role in planning the “Unite the Right” rally and orchestrating some of its violence.
Cantwell’s bruised ego incriminated him as he complained that the tiki torch march was supposed to have been a secret, as does his insistence of submitting evidence that shows his involvement in planning the rally while calling for violence. It’s worth noting that Cantwell pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery over his use of pepper spray during the tiki torch march specifically. True to his word, Cantwell previously said he was willing to “risk violence and incarceration” if “Unite the Right” faced any roadblocks. He tried to clarify that he meant he’d react with civil disobedience if their permits were revoked, but what Cantwell actually did was much, much worse.
At times, Cantwell appeared to try passing the buck by bringing up the actions of other defendants, but those instances were frequently culled from Cantwell in hateful conversation with his fellow Nazis. The likes of former Identity Evropa head Elliot Kline, aka Eli Mosley, and Richard Spencer reaffirmed with Cantwell their desire to fight counterprotesters, so entering evidence like this doesn’t make anyone look good.
Acting as if someone saying something worse than you somehow absolves you from your own shitty talking points isn’t the savviest strategy, but it’s one that’s been frequently employed by the many defendants in the Sines vs. Kessler case. Nazi organizer and named defendant Jason Kessler did his best to condemn Robert “Azzmador” Ray and the Daily Stormer crowd that attended “Unite the Right,” on the stand, but evidence showed that he relentlessly tried to court the group during the planning leading up to the event. Kessler also had no issue with Ray calling for the lynching of Dr. Cornel West over the course of that August weekend.
Though it’s easy to watch the defendants bury themselves over and over again, Integrity First for America has done a stellar job further driving home the point that the 25 defendants knew exactly what they were doing when the “Unite the Right” rally concluded. One person was dead, while countless others were injured. A particular highlight came from attorney Michael Bloch, who is part of the team representing the plaintiffs.
Yesterday, Bloch pulled up content Cantwell tried promoting today to illustrate just how explicitly Cantwell called for violence ahead of “Unite the Right.” Cantwell wrote in a blog post that “thousands of people listen to what I say” and bragged that some of those fans would carry out a mass shooting if he asked them to do so. He called for his audience to “prepare to hurt people” during one show and explicitly said, “We’re going to have to f***ing kill these people” when referring to proponents of non-violence during another.
The trial, which has been calendared for four weeks, is finally reaching its conclusion. An agreement appears to have been reached in which plaintiffs will have two and a half hours for closing, while defendants will have a total of three and a half hours between them. The jury is set to receive deliberation instructions on Wednesday, and closing arguments will begin on Thursday. It’s hard to imagine any other outcome than the Nazis getting what they deserve once this trial does conclude.
In a trial filled with self-serving moments from Cantwell, Tuesday’s display certainly took the cake. He read from his own blog posts, played clips of unaired interviews that added little to his own case, and pulled up audio from his own podcast in what mostly felt like an attempt to promote his brand. Cantwell seemed to miss the many moments that pointed to his role in planning the “Unite the Right” rally and orchestrating some of its violence.
Cantwell’s bruised ego incriminated him as he complained that the tiki torch march was supposed to have been a secret, as does his insistence of submitting evidence that shows his involvement in planning the rally while calling for violence. It’s worth noting that Cantwell pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery over his use of pepper spray during the tiki torch march specifically. True to his word, Cantwell previously said he was willing to “risk violence and incarceration” if “Unite the Right” faced any roadblocks. He tried to clarify that he meant he’d react with civil disobedience if their permits were revoked, but what Cantwell actually did was much, much worse.
At times, Cantwell appeared to try passing the buck by bringing up the actions of other defendants, but those instances were frequently culled from Cantwell in hateful conversation with his fellow Nazis. The likes of former Identity Evropa head Elliot Kline, aka Eli Mosley, and Richard Spencer reaffirmed with Cantwell their desire to fight counterprotesters, so entering evidence like this doesn’t make anyone look good.
Acting as if someone saying something worse than you somehow absolves you from your own shitty talking points isn’t the savviest strategy, but it’s one that’s been frequently employed by the many defendants in the Sines vs. Kessler case. Nazi organizer and named defendant Jason Kessler did his best to condemn Robert “Azzmador” Ray and the Daily Stormer crowd that attended “Unite the Right,” on the stand, but evidence showed that he relentlessly tried to court the group during the planning leading up to the event. Kessler also had no issue with Ray calling for the lynching of Dr. Cornel West over the course of that August weekend.
Though it’s easy to watch the defendants bury themselves over and over again, Integrity First for America has done a stellar job further driving home the point that the 25 defendants knew exactly what they were doing when the “Unite the Right” rally concluded. One person was dead, while countless others were injured. A particular highlight came from attorney Michael Bloch, who is part of the team representing the plaintiffs.
Yesterday, Bloch pulled up content Cantwell tried promoting today to illustrate just how explicitly Cantwell called for violence ahead of “Unite the Right.” Cantwell wrote in a blog post that “thousands of people listen to what I say” and bragged that some of those fans would carry out a mass shooting if he asked them to do so. He called for his audience to “prepare to hurt people” during one show and explicitly said, “We’re going to have to f***ing kill these people” when referring to proponents of non-violence during another.
The trial, which has been calendared for four weeks, is finally reaching its conclusion. An agreement appears to have been reached in which plaintiffs will have two and a half hours for closing, while defendants will have a total of three and a half hours between them. The jury is set to receive deliberation instructions on Wednesday, and closing arguments will begin on Thursday. It’s hard to imagine any other outcome than the Nazis getting what they deserve once this trial does conclude.