Charlottesville Memorial: 'Make A Difference' To Honor Victim, Mom Says

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — The mother of Heather Heyer, a counter-protester allegedly slain by a man who supports Nazi ideology, urged about 1,000 people at a memorial service Wednesday in Charlottesville to find in their hearts "that small spark of accountability" and "make a difference in the world."

James Alex Fields, a 20-year-old currently in police custody, is believed to be the driver who drove into a crowd of people Saturday who protested the original white supremacist rally. In addition to killing Heyer, the driver injured at least 19 other people.

Susan Bro said her daughter's involvement in protesting against white supremacists was not the end of her legacy — it was just the beginning. She urged the crowd to do as Heyer would have done. (For more stories on the Charlottesville violence and other Virginia news updates, subscribe to the Across Virginia Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"You poke that finger at yourself like Heather would have done and you make it happen."

Heyer's grandfather, Elwood Shrader, said Heyer always showed a passion for fairness, even as a child. He said she wanted respect for everyone and believed "all lives matter," a reference to the "Black Lives Matter" slogan.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Bro described her daughter as compassionate and charitable, saying she had a very strong sense of right and wrong.

“Somehow I almost feel that this is what she was born to be, is a focal point for change. I’m proud that what she was doing was peaceful, she wasn’t there fighting with people,” Bro told The Huffington Post.

As the memorial started, President Trump tweeted,"Memorial service today for beautiful and incredible Heather Heyer, a truly special young woman. She will be long remembered by all!"

Trump has been criticized for appearing to draw an equivalence between the white supremacist protesters and the counter-protesters and for defending some of the people who joined the Nazis, the KKK and other hate groups that attended the rally.

Watch the memorial below.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Andrew Shurtleff-Pool/Getty Images