Grave of slain Charlottesville protester Heather Heyer kept secret due to threats, mother says

The mother of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal killed while protesting white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, said she’s won’t reveal the location of her daughter’s grave on account of receiving ongoing threats four months following her death.

Susan Bro, Heyer’s mother, said her daughter’s ashes are interred in an unmarked, undisclosed, “completely protected” location, The Daily Beast reported Thursday.

The precise location of Heyer’s grave is being kept secret to protect the friends and family who visit the site as well as the people who work there, her mother said.

“It’s a symptom of hate in society that you should have to protect your child’s grave, for Pete’s sake,” she said. “So, I’m protecting my child now.”

Heyer was demonstrating against a far-right rally on Aug. 12 when a motorist identified as James Alex Fields Jr., 20, drove an automobile into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing Heyer and injuring several others, according to police.

Heyer’s mother has routinely received hate mail and taunts ever since, she told The Daily Beast.

“It’s kind of stupid,” she said. “You threaten the mother of someone you already killed because she dares to speak up.”

“It’s a little insane,” she added. “But I don’t live in paranoia and fear. I can’t function that way. It’s the new reality. It is what it is.”

A total of three people died in connection with the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally, including Heyer and two Virginia State Police troopers killed in a helicopter crash, authorities said.

“Unite the Right” had been billed as a protest against Charlottesville’s decision to remove a statue from a park honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Earlier this week, meanwhile, Charlottesville denied several permits filed by individuals hoping to hold rallies on the first anniversary of “Unite the Right,” including Jason Kessler, the white nationalist who organized the August event.

“The proposed demonstration or special event will present a danger to public safety,” the city wrote in rejection letters sent to Mr. Kessler and four other applicants.

Mr. Kessler has vowed to hold the rally anyway, and on Thursday tweeted: “JAMES FIELDS IS INNOCENT”