two months later james alex fields actually does it. why is this a civil case instead of a criminal case? in 2017 jeff sessions was leading the department of justice, and it was very clear to many people that the doj at that time was not going to pursue civil right the work with the enthusiasm ys mit deserves s private plaintiffs, what our plaintiffs can bring is a civil lawsuit and they did using the ku klux klan act, which is an 151-year-old statute to protect against the racially motivated violent conspiracies we saw here four years ago. one of the nine plaintiffs is liz signs who says fields car almost hit her. i ll never forget watching them attack my fellow students or the feeling of running for my life. another plaintiff is natalie. she was hit by fields car causing a skull fracture and concussion. thomas baker thought he would