The Mayor of Maumee, Ohio is hoping James A. Fields doesn’t give his town a bad name.
Fields is the man accused of driving his car into a crowd of people who were protesting a rally organized by white nationalists and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday.
Maumee Mayor Rich Carr says he didn’t like seeing what he called “all the hatred” in Charlottesville over the weekend; but it only got worse when it turned out Fields lived nearby.
Maumee is a town in northwest Ohio with a population of less than 15,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It's also nearly 95% white. Carr says unlike many other cities, it hasn't been a hotbed of political tension since the 2016 Presidential election.
“This type of hatred that we have in our country has to end,” Carr said, “and when the name of the city of Maumee gets mentioned in it, it’s something that brings a negative connotation to our city that we really do not deserve.”
Carr also called the violence in Charlottesville “despicable.”
According to Carr, Fields’ mother’s apartment where he’s reported to have been living is in Monclova Twp., just outside of Maumee (but it does have a Maumee mailing address). Police from the Lucas County Sheriff’s office were stationed outside the apartment complex and restricting reporters from accessing the property on Sunday.
Fields is in jail, and expected to appear in court Monday morning. The FBI is investigating the case further.
