Susan Bro lost her daughter to an act of racially charged violence last weeks, and now the mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer has come under attack herself.
Bro said this week that she had faced death threats after her daughter’s death, which came when 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people gathered to protest a white supremacist rally in the Virginia city. After Bro spoke out against the racists in the wake of her daughter’s death, they turned their attention to her.
“I’ve had death threats already… because of what I’m doing right this second,” Bro told NBC News .
In an appearance on Good Morning America , Bro denounced the response of President Donald Trump, who was slow to condemn the white supremacists who held the rally. Trump later backed away from those comments, asserting that there was blame on all sides and decrying the movement to take down Confederate statues.
Susan Bro said that the White House has reached out to her multiple times, but she missed the calls at first and now has no desire to speak to the president.
Bro said that if Heather Heyer were still alive, she would not have given in to violence and would instead be laughing at the bigots who were emboldened by Trump’s defense of Confederate statutes, NBC News noted.
“She would have laughed them to scorn,” she said.
Susan Bro to Trump: “Think before you speak.”
Watch this entire 8 min interview with Heather Heyer’s mom. (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/wkPOMqfO14
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 18, 2017
Susan Bro said she believes Donald Trump does bear some responsibility for emboldening racists.
“I think the president has found a niche in voters of the people who feel marginalized and I think he has continued to nurture those marginalized voters,” she said. “I’ve had death threats already… because of what I’m doing right this second.”
Susan Bro, mother of Charlottesville victim, says the White House tried to call her during her daughter’s funeral https://t.co/MaQTTh6ndX pic.twitter.com/NepDMXaMTP
— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2017
While Susan Bro may be facing death threats, her dead daughter also remains a target for racist groups. In the hours after Heather’s death, the racist website, The Daily Stormer, published an article praising her death and calling Heather a “fat sl**.”
The site’s founder, Andrew Anglin, also wrote that Heather was an “overweight slob with no children” and “most people are glad [Heyer] is dead, as she is the definition of uselessness.”
In contrast, Anglin had praise for her alleged killer, calling him a “hardcore player” with a “cool demeanor.”
Anglin also praised Donald Trump for his initial response to the deadly attack after the president refused to condemn white supremacists and walked out of a press conference when asked by a reporter if he would specifically condemn the group.
“No condemnation at all,” Anglin wrote (via the Huffington Post ).
“They killed her to try and shut her up, but you didn’t do that. You magnified her.” – Heather’s Mom, Susan Bro
Standing ovation followed. pic.twitter.com/WQztfu5NZd
— Christian Heilman (@cgheilman) August 16, 2017
Susan Bro does not appear to be cowed by the death threats. She has continued to champion her daughter’s cause, and at a memorial service this week, Bro said that Heather Heyer’s voice has only been magnified by the violent act that took her life.
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
