Thread by @UR_Ninja

This tweet starts Part 4 of day 10 of the 'Sines v. Kessler' Charlottesville 'Unite The Right' lawsuit trial.

part 1:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456609136594939904

part 2:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456631754308014085

part 3:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456675798652375042

Richard Spencer is about to cross-examine Michael Hill.

Roberta Kaplan is discussing trial scheduling w Judge Moon right now, there's been some confusion as to how long the trial will actually last for - it's set to end Nov. 19 but may run later.

Jury is returning now

Richard Spencer: You've testified that you're the founder and longtime President of the League of the South.. in that capacity would you deal with membership applications

Hill: I have an office manager who handles that

Spencer: have I ever tried to join.. or donated to, your group?

Hill: no

Spencer: There was reference to a League of the South member Spencer Borum... we are different individuals?

Hill: no

Richard Spencer: have you ever been in communication with Richard Spencer?

Michael Hill: 5-6 years ago you invited me to speak at the National Policy Institute conference... I didn't bc I'm a Christian and found out an avowed homosexual a was going to speak...

Spencer: when was the rally proper supposed to begin?

Hill: sometime around noon

Spencer: what would that event have been like?

Hill: all the ppl gathered in the park would turn their attention to where the speakers' platform was... there would be speeches...

Spencer asks Michael Hill about his plans to speak, the plans for the themes in his speech etc

Spencer: why didn't you deliver the speech?

Hill: the rally was declared an unlawful assembly and we were driven out of the park by the authorities

Richard Spencer: when you attended Unite The Right did you ever see Richard Spencer up close?

Hill: i don't think I did

Spencer: Did you see Richard Spencer when you were marching down Market Street?

Hill: no I didn't

Spencer: to your understanding who was the chief organizer of the Unite The Right rally?

Hill: Jason Kessler

Spencer: who invited you to speak?

Hill: Jason Kessler

Spencer: No further questions

Edward Rebrook, lawyer for Jeff Schoep and the National Socialist Movement, is crossing Michael Hill now

Rebrook: were you involved in any aspect of planning for Unite The Right with Jeff Schoep?

Hill: we coordinated our logistics of getting in and out of the city for the rally

Rebrook: beyond logistics were there any discussions of your intentions for the rally?

Hill: not that I recall

Rebrook: did you see Mr. Schoep or any NSM members at the torch march?

Hill: I was not at the torch march

Rebrook is done, Chris Cantwell (representing himself) will cross-examine Michael Hill now

Cantwell is asking Hill about the email w the phrase the "Pikeville model" which referred to the April 2017 neo-nazi rally in Pikeville, Kentucky where both Cantwell and Hill were present. Hill says he doesn't remember meeting Cantwell there

Cantwell: from what you know about jails and prisons do you think you'd like to spend a lot of time in one?

Hill: No I do not

Cantwell: did you hide your face from any cameras on August 12?

Hill: No i did not

Cantwell shows a video that's paused to show Michael Tubbs in front of a group of League of the South guys w shields. Cantwell circles a black and pink in the background that seems to belong to a counter-protester

Cantwell: while you were formed up in this area.. did you smell pepper spray?

Hill: yes I did

Cantwell shows Hill a video w a frame that shows pepper spray being sprayed by someone towards League of the South members with shields - Cantwell points out the outfit of the sprayer

Cantwell: have you ever read Mein Kampf?

Hill: yes.... as a graduate student in a German history proram

Cantwell: what were the circumstances in which Hitler wrote it?

Hill: [waxes poetic about Hitler's biography]

Cantwell asks more stuff about Hitler and Hill clearly fawns over Hitler in his answers, then Cantwell is done.

Jason Kessler's lawyer James Kolenich is cross-examining Michael Hill now, asking hill about the series of events that led to David Duke being invited to Unite The Right (or not, there is confusion)

Kolenich: before you left the market street parking garage the morning of August 12 do you remember Ike Baker giving a speech?

Hill: i might remember but idk

Kolenich plays a clip of Baker saying "we intend to be the first ones in that park... Kessler said he wouldn't let us in the park..."

Kolenich: does that refresh your recollection that Baker didn't like Jason Kessler

Hill: right

Kolenich asks Hill if he went along w Kessler's plan about where to enter the park, Hill says no.

Kolenich: did you enter in to any agreement with Kessler to engage in race-based violence?

Hill: no

Kolenich is done, no re-direct so League of the South leader Michael Hill is done testifying now.

Roberta Kaplan calls witness Thomas Baker to the stand - Baker is also a plaintiff in the case

Baker is sworn in and sits down in the witness stand. Plaintiffs' attorney David Mills with @IntegrityforUSA will be questioning him on direct examination

Asked to introduce himself, Baker says he lives in Charlottesville, graduated from college in NY in 2012 and grad school in 2017. In Charlottesville he's owned an ecological consultant practice for about 5 years

Mills: where were you living in August 2017?

Baker: I was living in Charlottesville... since that previous May

Mills: you became aware of an event called Unite The Right?.. How..?

Baker: it was the buzz around town, everyone was talking about it

Baker: it was very clear that...what was happening very far transcended the removal of the statues... it was clear some of the groups that were coming in... were racist, anti-semitic, homophobic, violent....

Mills: did you have a view yourself about the removal of the statue, the Lee statue?

Baker: At the time I was undecided...

Mills: why did you decide to go downtown to Charlottesville for [Unite The Right]?

Baker: we had just moved here... being a new member of the city I wanted to show support... it was also clear that the people coming...and it was important to...stand up to these bullies who were intentionally trying to instill fear...

Baker: ...when you know something is right and you might be fearful to stand up for it, that's the time that you actually need to....

Mills: what made you believe that they were bringing violence into Charlottesville?

Baker:... I knew that they had a history of violence...

Mills: why did you go that day?

Baker: to be counted in support of my community and stand up to these outsiders, these bullies that were coming in...Kessler was the only one that I knew was local...

Mills: who else did you know was coming?

Baker: Richard Spencer

Mills: at this time in August 2017 did you know of something called antifa?

Baker: at that time i may have but I don't think I knew anything specific...

Mills: were you ever a member of antifa or an adherent to its ideology?

Baker: no

Mills: before you went on August 12 did you know about what happened on August 11 the night before?

Baker: I knew that white supremacists instigated violence on students at the Jefferson statue at UVA

Mills: how did you prepare for violence you expected on saturday?

Baker: to maintain physical distance

Mills: did you bring any weapons with you?

Baker: no

Mills: what time did you go downtown?

Baker: sometime around 11

Mills: Did you go by yourself or with others?

Baker: Alone, my wife dropped me off... she was fearful of the potential violence

Mills: she let you go anyway?

Baker: it was a serious point of contention... I convinced her I would stay away from any potential violence...

Mills: were you aware of any groups that were planning to go as counter-protesters that day?

Baker: I knew that there would be some church groups...

Baker says he was dropped off by the library near Emancipation Park, says it felt like a secure place. Mills pulls up a map showing the area, has him draw an X on Emancipation Park and draw an arrow to show the route he took to arrive in the area

Mills: what did the scene look by the time that you got there?

Baker: the park was pretty well occupied by groups that were in consistent uniforms, khaki pants and white shirts... uniformed...outside of the park was a diversity of groups...some people had their arms locked

Mills: was there police on the scene?

Baker: there were some police, I remember there was a police car almost right in front of me

Mills: what happened after you arrived, what did you observe?

Baker: I saw smaller groups of protesters coming in, the ones with shields were just smashing through the counter-protesters. Once the park was kind of full... a lot of the protesters were charging out of the park, literally yelling "charge" and smashing into counter-protesters

Mills: did you observe counter-protesters blocking protesters?

Baker: I wouldn't characterize it as blocking...there were just individuals who were just locking their arms.. not fully blocking the street

Mills: did you observe if protesters could get around the counter protesters?

Baker: they could get around, I got around

Baker: I remember in smaller groups the protesters would charge out of the park... run into the counter-protesters, hit them with their shields and their flagpoles, and then they would run back into the park - come out, have these quick attacks, and then run back into the park

Baker: when that would happen, the counter-protesters, some would run away, others would defend themselves and hit back...

Baker says he saw this happen at least "a dozen" times

Mills: did you see counter-protesters charge into the park?

Baker: no

Mills: did you ever see anything being thrown that day?

Baker: I did, yes

Mills: what did you say?

Baker: the cop car in front of me was getting pelted with items from inside the park.. balloons, some other objects...

Mills: how could you tell that projectiles were coming from inside the park?

Baker: it was blatantly clear which direction these things were coming from... it was from inside the park

Mills: what were you focused on that day?

Baker: it was very clear that the aggression was very one-sided...if counter-protesters were defending themselves it did not justify the level of violence and aggression that was coming from inside the park...

Mills: how did you hear the unlawful assembly being declared?

Baker: I think i heard it over loudspeakers

Mills: the violence you observed, the protesters charging out of the park, did that occur before or after the unlawful assembly was declared?

Baker: before

Mills: did you take pictures that day?

Baker: my phone was shattered when I got hit by the car, the FBI tried to recover photos off my phone but they couldn't

Mills: did you end up on Water Street at some point, did you see people there?

Baker: Yes...around 1:30 PM

Mills: did you join the group of individuals that were walking down water street?

Baker:Yes i did

Mills: earlier you said you were avoiding crowds of people, why would you join this crowd?

Baker: it was joyous, celebratory...it seemed peaceful... i felt safe...

Mills: what were they doing?

Baker: there were some banners and signs, some chants..it was an environment of joy and celebration and kindness

Mills: what were they celebrating?

Baker: I assume it was similar to what I was feeling which was happiness. that the violence had left our city

Mills: did you see any weapons in that crowd?

Baker: no

Mills: so what happened next?

Baker: we took a left up 4th street...i was nearing the front of this group of people... it wasn't long after walking up 4th street that I heard... loud thumps, I see bodies in the air... this all happened within a second... then the car was directly in front of me

Baker: i tried to get light on my feet... the car had, I was just off center of the car & it hit my lower half... it then propelled my face and my chest, my torso, into the windshield of the car and it flipped me over top of the car... I landed on my side...

Mills plays the jury the now-infamous video of the celebratory crowd marching up the street as James Fields' car suddenly plows into the group

Mills: you described bodies being hit by the vehicle... it's hard to hear those in the video, can you describe for the jury?

Baker: I can't think of any other descriptors - it's the sound of metal crashing into bodies, very very distinctive thumps and screams...

Mills shows a picture of the crowd marching right as Fields' car is approaching.

Mills: can you see yourself in this picture...?

Baker: yes (circles himself - he's right in front of the car)

Mills shows another pic - it shows the car hitting the crowd - Baker circles himself, he can be seen being thrown several feet up into the air.

Mills shows a photo of Fields' car after it hit the crowd. Baker indicates the part of the broken windshield where he hit it

Baker calls the feeling of getting hit as "catastrophically violent...it's like the force doesn't leave the body, the violence that your body absorbs, it's like it just doesn't leave and you absorb the entirety of that impact"

Thomas Baker said he landed on his right side and his back and was "absolutely confident that I was going to die at that moment... once I hit the ground.. I was in such shock that I didn't die..."

Baker said he saw the car was reversing so "I got up as fast as I could" and saw a guy "clearly in shock so.. I don't know why I did this so I just picked him up" to get out of the way of the car. Says after that he fell, and felt the adrenaline leave his body, and collapsed.

Mills shows Baker a photo, Baker says it shows him in the hospital after he was hit by the car.

Mills: what do these photos show?

Baker: ... they had temporarily casted me arm... was cleaned up by that point, had a bandage on my nose...

Baker says the photo doesn't show the initial swelling in his arms and hip - "the swelling was so severe when they did the X-rays that they couldn't tell if anything was broken"

Mills: can you briefly tell the jury what injuries you sustained?

Baker: I had a concussion, lacerations all over my body, a torn ligament in my left wrist, a torn labrum to my right hip

Baker's wrist was casted for 6 weeks, a sling for a while after that. "I'm told to likely experience arthritis in the future". The injury to his hip was much more severe - his hip ligament was "almost completely torn off" - he didn't know at first how bad that injury was

Thomas Baker is describing the surgery he had to have to repair his hip. Said the surgery worked as it was hoped to but has has permanently lost a lot of mobility and lives with chronic pain

Mills shows the jury another exhibit, this one is a chart describing Bakers' past medical expenses, treatments, costs

Mills showed the jury another spreadsheet with estimates of lost wages from the weeks of work he missed after the car attack.

Baker says things like someone dropping a book can trigger intense flashbacks to the attack

Thomas Baker: "Prior to August 12 I was physically healthy..played competitive sports..did a lot of hiking..these are just not things I can do anymore"

Mills: are these physical limitations.. permanent?

Baker: Yes

Mills: thank you for your testimony today. Nothing further

A few of the defendants declined to cross-examine Thomas Baker. Richard Spencer is crossing him now

Spencer: you said hearing about the rally was the buzz around town... and the two names you were aware of were Mr. Kessler and myself... how did you become aware of Richard Spencer?

Baker: I can't recall specifically.. buzz around social media

Spencer: how did you hear about Mr. Kessler?

Baker: it would have been similar

Spencer: How did you understand Mr. Kessler in relation to the Unite The Right rally?

Baker: that he was an organizer, a leader of that, to some degree

Spencer: during August 12 you described how you went near the park, circled back around...at any point did you see me?

Baker: I very well may have but... I wouldn't have been able to pick you out...

Spencer: no further questions

Chris Cantwell is next to cross-examine Thomas Baker

Cantwell: did I catch correctly you say that you don't know exactly how you found out about the rally?

Baker: yes

Cantwell: do you know who [lists off like 11 names] is?

Baker: no

Cantwell: you said that you knew the people coming were bullies?

Baker: I meant to say more severe than bully but..yes

Cantwell: you knew the people who were coming had a history of racist and anti-Semitic violence, can you speak to the specifics of that?

Baker: I knew that groups like the KKK were coming...

Cantwell: you stated that you knew these groups had a history of racist and anti-Semitic violence, is it your testimony now that all you knew about that was the KKK?

Baker: the KKK, Jason Kessler

Cantwell (raising voice loudly): you knew that Jason Kessler had a history of racist and anti-Semitic violence?

Baker: anti-semitic rhetoric and instigation

Cantwell: is it now your testimony that on August 12, 2017 you had no information linking Jason Kessler to racist and anti-semitic violence?

Baker: ...sure

Cantwell: prior to August 12 did you know that anyone attending the rally had a history of racist and anti-Semitic violence?

Baker: specific people, no

Cantwell: but you knew they had said racist things, was that just about as bad?

Baker: no, not at all

Cantwell: you didn't know about antifa at all at that time... and you had lived in Charlottesville since May 2017?

Baker: yes

Cantwell: you said you knew a few church groups would be counter-protesting... do you know anything about the Clergy Collective? Congregate Cville?

Baker: No

Cantwell: you said that you can't deny that projectiles were launched into the park?

Baker: correct

Cantwell: you said that the FBI tried to take some pictures of your phone, so you took pics that day, did you take any video?

Baker: no

Cantwell with an agitated demeanor is asking Baker if he saw red bandanas, saw any counter-protesters with shields or flagpoles, wearing helmets or goggles etc

Cantwell: you described the atmosphere of the crowd on Water Street as "celebratory" etc... the crowd then turned on 4th street and that's where you got hit by the car...you didn't see anybody carrying baseball bats, clubs, nothing like that?

Baker: not that I recall, no

Cantwell shows an exhibit to Baker - "do you see that guy smashing James Fields' car with a club?"

Plaintiffs object, Judge Moon sustains

Cantwell is playing a slowed-down video of the car attack to Baker, apparently to have him say if he sees anyone hitting James Fields' car with any flagpoles or clubs etc

Cantwell: do you see anybody wearing masks?

Baker: i don't remember that, I do remember people dressed as clowns

Cantwell: do you see anybody wearing leaded gloves?

Baker: no

Cantwell: you didn't see any baseball bats?

Judge Moon: He's already said he did not

Cantwell: no further questions

Plaintiff Thomas Baker's testimony is done now. Judge Moon dismisses the jury for the weekend, reminds the next Thursday is a federal holiday so no court.

Roberta Kaplan tells Judge Moon that the plaintiffs want to hear from the defendants "how many trial dates they think they need" regarding planning for the rest of the case - the defense says they can have answer on that by Monday.

That's it for today's livetweets from court in Sines v. Kessler here in federal court in Charlottesville.

Part 1 of tweets from today is here:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456609136594939904

part 2:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456631754308014085?s=20

part 3:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456675798652375042

part 4:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1456702046350938116?s=20

Over 4 years after Unite The Right, the lawsuit filed after the deadly rally is finally on trial.

It's revealing lots of dirt about alt-right organizers who are accused of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by conspiring to violate civil rights:

unicornriot.ninja/2021/former-id…