Thread by @ChristopherJM

Morning from Charlottesville, Va. In federal court here today will be day 2 of jury selection in the civil trial against the white supremacist "Unite the Right" organizers. Here's how day 1 went: buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…

Jury selection underway. First woman questioned has strong feelings against the removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville and the Black Lives Matter movement. She said on her juror questionnaire that she wasn't worried about prejudice against Black & Hispanic people.

But she also says the Unite the Right rally "made a joke" of Charlottesville and she did not support it "at all." Earlier she said that "both sides are absolutely wrong" referring to UtR and antiracist counterprotesters.

Antifa mentioned again. (Read this from day 1: buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…) This potential juror says of Black Lives Matter and antifa "movements" that "both of them knew what they were coming to Charlottesville to do... which led to violence and chaos."

Judge Moon asks this woman if "radical communists and atheists" deserve the right to demonstrate. She answers "No," but then adds, "everyone does have the right [to publicly demonstrate] but it's not what I'd prefer."

Attorneys for plaintiffs discussing this potential juror with Judge Moon, saying they're concerned about her for views expressed in court, her "insider knowledge" of events around Unite the Right. Richard Spencer pipes up to say he actually agrees, doesn't want her on the jury.

And with that, Judge Moon strikes her for cause. She won't be on the jury. Bringing in the next person for questioning.

Next juror is a woman and she says she's going through a difficult separation right now. Her tone is somber. She says she has a lot of friends who were part of events on Aug 12 and are suffering from the aftermath.

This potential juror is having a tough time and just broke down in tears recalling the events of August 2017. She said she thought she could be impartial but "now that I'm here this is bringing up a lot of stuff for me." Judge sent her to jury room to discuss her with attorneys.

Judge Moon is going to excuse her because he said he thinks she has too much going on. He strikes her for cause. Next juror coming in now.

Next juror, a man, lives in downtown Charlottesville. He's concerned about racism but not racism against white people. He considers himself center-left politically and says he'd consider himself antifa in the way that WWII GIs were antifascists.

Question to this juror about how he would describe "fascism." He says, "an authoritarian, not democratic government... Adolf Hitler is an example of a fascist..." He adds that he's "all about pushing back against forces that are rising."

Cantwell tells Judge Moon he wants to strike this juror for cause because of his "extremely favorable view" of antifa, a group the white supremacist claims "hunt people like dogs in the streets." Attys for other defendants also want this man excused.

Richard Spencer says this prospective juror is "lying to get on the jury."

Judge Moon accepts him and says he won't disqualify the guy.

So this current potential juror is a woman who really doesn't like protests and thinks they lead violence. She also doesn't like "Black Lives Matter" and believes "all lives matter." Judge asks if she could set aside preconceived opinions to return a fair verdict. "I think so."

She goes on, responding to the judge's follow-up questions. "I just don't like protesters. Either way. I just don't think it's right." She says she's "75%" sure she can be fair if chosen for the jury in this case.

Judge Moon says he's going to strike this woman for cause because of her 75% remark and her "strong" preconceived notions. Moving to the next potential juror.

This woman is a therapist and has a private practice. Some of her patients are in crisis and she doesn't know what she would do if she were to be on the jury for four weeks. She's so busy she can't fit new people in because so many people coming in to deal with crises...

Judge Moon is going to excuse her, says she has a genuine hardship.

Next juror, a man who works as an independent contractor and said work can't be done without him, also excused.

Next juror says he could have a hard time being impartial in because he thinks it's difficult to believe so many people and groups could come together without conspiring ahead of time. "I am biased against the defendants. I believe they are evil, their organizations are evil."

Cantwell wants to question the juror. Richard Spencer says "it won't be the first time someone has called me evil" and doesn't want to dismiss him. "I feel he could be a benefit" to have on the jury b/c his concern is the very thing the trial is attempting to get at.

Both Cantwell & Spencer are defending themselves. James Kolenich, an attorney for another white supremacist defendant, pipes in after those previous remarks to say to the judge, "I have no idea what these two think they're doing... [the juror] should be excused." And he's excused

So, jury selection continued. Hello from court. One juror was in and out quickly, no issues or questions from plaintiffs and defendants. The current juror says he has a vacation planned but could reschedule if asked to serve on the jury.

This guy wrote on his questionnaire that he's against antifa and described them as domestic terrorists. Based on what? He says: “What I’ve seen on television and the internet, rioting and destroying public property. I’m all for protest just don't destroy people’s property.”

He also says antisemitism isn’t much of a problem today. "I just don’t believe today we have that problem. Maybe we do in parts of the world. Where I live I don’t see that problem."

So far this afternoon, six jurors brought up after lunch have been questioned. Four were excused, a couple were allowed to pass through.

Court just took 10 min break and I got another chance to see the suit Joshua Smith is wearing when he got up from his seat. He's a lawyer for three defendants. His suit reminds me of one a Ukrainian groom would wear. Very shiny. Something like this.

New juror up. She says she's already formed an opinion and doesn't know if she can set it aside. When asked by Judge Moon who she thinks was responsible for Unite the Right rally, she says, "the racists." Moon excuses her quickly for cause.

Next up. This man says he has a lack of empathy for both sides showing up that day in Charlottesville because they knew the risks. He is a single dad who took his son out of the city for the day. He said he has his opinions and they're hard to change. He's excused for cause.

Hey, they passed a juror! A woman made it through with few questions from the judge and without any questions from defendants or plaintiffs. Some progress. Next one up.

Woman up now says she heard about case and that someone died after being hit by a car but doesn't know much else about it. She wrote on her questionnaire she has an unfavorable view of BLM b/c "not just black lives matter, all lives matter. We're all humans." She passed.

One more woman just passed through...

Juror questioned now says he believes "the [political] left is slightly unhinged and a little extremist. Not that the right isn't extreme! We have a climate of extremes." He says he's concerned about retaliation if he doesn't find the defendants liable. Says he can be impartial.

He described antifa as "militant left-wing extremists" in his questionnaire. Judge asks if the defendants in this case assert plaintiffs are associated with antifa, would it color his view? "I'll follow the proof," he answered.

Judge: Any view of white supremacy, that whites are superior to others? "No. I think that line of thinking is not in line with my personal values," juror replies.

There was just a big debate about this juror. Plaintiffs wanted him excused for cause and felt very strongly about it. Defendants wanted to keep him, with Cantwell and Spencer each arguing he could be impartial. It was close, but the judge excused him.

Juror now is a white man who thinks "whites are discriminated against all the time." He says just watch the TV. Judge asks: Do you think the media is slanted against white people? "Yes," the juror replies.

This juror, who says "white folks are more discriminated against than any other races," also says the Black Lives Matter movement is "a sham, a bunch of people trying to take advantage."

He has repeated at least twice now that these are his personal views and have nothing to do with this case, so...

You've said you are not greatly concerned about discrimination against Blacks, Hispanics, and Jewish people, the judge says, citing the juror's questionnaire. Can he still rule fairly? The juror says that he can.

Welp. This guy passed through after much debate from both sides.

10? 11? 12 jurors?
So there is a lot of confusion and debate right now in court about how many jurors have been selected and how many are left to select and how many the court is ready to go to trial with.

"We're slightly confused..." says someone's attorney.

Today ended with some uncertainty when court mics were switched off. Plaintiffs’ attys didn’t comment after but outside, myself & other reporters spoke to Joshua Smith & Richard Spencer, who said it was decided tomorrow will be more jury selex with opening arguments likely Thurs.