‘Gangs and the Military: Gangsters, Bikers, and Terrorists with Military Training’ by Carter F. Smith (2017)
“An internal report, obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows that gang members were tied to dozens of Army felony law enforcement reports and more than 100 criminal investigations in fiscal 2018, the latest year for which data is available. While these reports and investigations make up less than 1% of all Army law enforcement incidents, the new report shows that the little-discussed problem of military gang activity continues to be a headache for base commanders and other service leaders.”
James Fields Jr., 20, from Ohio, was charged with second-degree murder after killing Heather Heyer, 32, and critically injuring several others when he drove his vehicle into a crowd of protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia. The protestors that he harmed were counter protesting a “white nationalist” protest. According to police records, Fields was previously accused of beating his mother and threatening her with a knife. James Fields Jr. served in the active duty Army for about four months from August to December 2015. He was discharged after failing out of basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. Fields was denied bail. On June 28, 2019, a federal judge sentenced James Fields Jr. to life in prison for 29 hate crimes. On July 15, 2019, Fields Jr. was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years and $480,000 in fines by the State of Virginia for the Charlottesville car attack.
In the News:
James Alex Fields Jr. is behind bars after he allegedly plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against a white nationalist rally in Virginia. -ABC News (August 13, 2017)
James Fields, the white nationalist who killed Heather Heyer by ramming his car into a crowd of protesters at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia has been sentenced to life in prison. -NowThis News (June 28, 2019)
An avowed white supremacist who plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a young woman, apologized to his victims Friday before being sentenced to life in prison on hate crime charges. -Bloomberg TicToc (June 28, 2019)
The man who deliberately drove through a crowd of people in Charlottesville, Virginia, has received another life sentence. Dozens were wounded and one person was killed. -CBS News (July 15, 2019)