Charlottesville, Va. (NBC News) – The man accused of driving into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday, killing one person and injuring 19 more was denied bond during his first court appearance Monday.
Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in the attack. She was among a group protesting a gathering of white nationalists.
Police say 20-year-old James Alex Fields, Jr. Intentionally crashed into the crowd.
He said little during the brief hearing and was not required to enter a plea.
A former high school teacher now says Fields was outspoken about his political beliefs.
“He thought what the Nazis did was great, what Hitler did was great. This whole white supremacy, racial dominance thing. He was into that,” said teacher Derek Weiner.
The organizer of the white nationalist rally that drew the large crowd of counter-protesters blamed law enforcement.
“What happened yesterday was the result of the Charlottesville Police officers refusing to do their job,” Jason Kessler said Sunday.
He was quickly drowned out by shouts, then punched and chased before police moved in.
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