Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

James Fields, suspected in the death of the woman who was fatally struck by a vehicle last year outside the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, was indicted on Wednesday in Virginia for federal hate crime charges.

The 32-year-old victim was Heather Heyer. Her killing resulted in a first-degree murder charge for Fields, who also faces a slew of other hate crimes charges.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, long viewed as an opponent to civil rights, said in a statement, “Today’s indictment should send a clear message to every would-be criminal in America that we aggressively prosecute violent crimes of hate that threaten the core principles of our nation.”