Heather Heyer identified as victim of Charlottesville car attack

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Heather Heyer, 32, has been identified by authorities as the woman who was killed when a man plowed his car into counterprotesters at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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NBC News reported that Heyer worked at a Ruckersville, Virginia, law firm. She was killed as she crossed the street with other counterprotesters.

“She was there with her friends and she was trying to simply cross the street as the movement was breaking up that day and she was plowed down by a young man who was intent on spreading hate and thought hate would fix the world, and hate does not fix the world,” Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, said.

Related: Deadly Charlottesville car attack: What we know now 

Ohio resident James Alex Fields Jr., 20, was taken into custody by police shortly after videos showed a silver Dodge Challenger registered under his name speeding toward a crowd, hitting people and cars in front of it, and then backing out of the street.

He is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and failure to stop in an accident that resulted in death, according to CNN.

"I told him to be careful," his mother, Samantha Bloom, told the Toledo Blade. "(And) if they're going to rally to make sure he's doing it peacefully."

Related: Who is James Alex Fields Jr., suspect in deadly Charlottesville car attack?

Bloom recalled that her son told her he was on his way to an “alt-right” rally in Virginia.

“I thought it had something to do with Trump,” she admitted, saying that she tries to stay out of her son’s political views.

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" is one of the last posts that can be seen on Heyer's Facebook.

“I always encouraged her to be strong and strong-minded — even though that wasn’t always easy to raise -- but I was always proud of what she was doing,” Bro told NBC News. “She was a fun loving person and tenderhearted person, but at times she could be tough as nails too.”

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