• The HBO Original documentary film NO ACCIDENT, directed by Emmy(R) Award-winning filmmaker Kristi Jacobson (HBO’s “Solitary”), debuts TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10 (9:00-10:40 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
• Synopsis: In the aftermath of the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally in 2017, attorneys Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan and Karen Dunn filed a civil lawsuit against 17 white nationalist leaders and organizations on behalf of nine plaintiffs who suffered physical and emotional injuries while peacefully counter protesting the rally. The lawsuit alleged that the event was not an isolated, spontaneous gathering, but rather a well-planned and coordinated conspiracy to incite racially motivated violence and to advance an anti-Semitic, race-war agenda. And the courtroom drama that ensued put those ideas to the test.
In real time and with intimate, behind-the-scenes access to the lawyers, their dedicated team and six of the brave plaintiffs, NO ACCIDENT chronicles the shocking turns over three years in this seminal civil rights trial, where co-counsels Kaplan and Dunn along with attorneys Michael Bloch and Jessica Phillips, go head-to-head against alt-right and white supremacist leader Richard Spencer and extremist podcast host Christopher Cantwell, among other defendants. When Spencer and Cantwell represent themselves at trial and act as their own attorneys, the plaintiffs must confront their attackers on the witness stand during cross-examinations. Revealing the vitriolic online language and communiqués that led to the death of Heather Heyer and the lasting trauma of many who were present on August 12, 2017, through chilling testimony from the trial, the film exposes a broad network of conspirators and details the challenges of holding those leaders and organizations liable for their actions. NO ACCIDENT is a testament to the courage of everyday citizens to stand up to hate, and the dogged efforts of attorneys to work within the system in the hope that violence based on racism and religious hatred does not go unpunished.
• Featured Participants: Noted attorney Roberta Kaplan (the recent E. Jean Carroll case, marriage equality via U.S. v. Windsor) and nationally known trial lawyer and former Associate White House Counsel Karen Dunn, expert witness Deborah Lipstadt, lawyers Michael Bloch and Jessica Phillips, former Executive Director of Integrity First for America Amy Spitalnick, and plaintiffs Marissa Blair, April Muñiz, Natalie Romero, Elizabeth Sines, Devin Willis and Seth Wispelwey.
• Credits: HBO Documentaries presents NO ACCIDENT, a McGee Media Production in association with Just Films/The Ford Foundation and Topic Studios. Directed by Kristi Jacobson; produced by Michelle R. Carney, Alexandra Moss; executive produced by Dyllan McGee, Jihan Robinson. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Tina Nguyen.
Source
HBO
