Nine people who sued white nationalist leaders and organizations over the violence at a deadly rally in Charlottesville in 2017 won a $26 million judgment for the injuries and trauma they endured.

A jury has ordered 17 white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay $26 million in damages over violence that erupted during the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Lawyers for nine people hurt during the “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville have told a jury that white nationalists “planned, executed and then celebrated” racially motivated violence that left one counterprotester dead and dozens more injured.

Jury selection has begun at a civil trial in Charlottesville, Virginia to determine whether white nationalists who planned the so-called “Unite the Right” rally will be held responsible for the violence that erupted.

MELBOURNE, FL – A white nationalist who ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida and was a featured speaker during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Augustus Sol Invictus, 36, was arrested Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff's deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina, the Miami Herald reported. Jail records show that Invictus is being held without bond and is to appear before a judge on Jan. 15. Invictus had been under surveillance since Christmas Day, when South Carolina authorities notified officials in Florida that Invictus may be in the area. Florida officials began tailing Invictus after tracking him down at a relative’s home, Goodyear said.

Win McNamee/Getty ImagesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The University of Florida has invited Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, his girlfriend and a senior adviser to President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, to speak on campus next week. University officials said in a statement they are aware Trump Jr.'s visit may draw a backlash and bring critics of the president and his family to campus but urged showing respect. Ron DeSantis has touted free speech resolutions on campuses as "imperative for the future of our society." The University of Florida regularly hosts famous speakers, such as an April appearance by comedian Hasan Minhaj. Trump Jr. will appear on campus as his father faces an impeachment inquiry in Washington, D.C. Guilfoyle is a former co-host of the Fox News show "The Five."

(CNN) - The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm former lobbyist Mark Esper as secretary of defense, according to various media outlets. Esper formally stepped down from his role as acting defense secretary Monday after the Senate received his nomination from the White House to be confirmed for the permanent position. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has assumed the acting role, making him President Donald Trump's third acting defense secretary this year. He was to serve in that job until Esper's Senate confirmation. The Senate Armed Services Committee announced last week that it would expedite the process to hold a confirmation hearing despite only receiving Esper's formal nomination from the White House on Monday.

Vice Admiral William Moran steps down, deciding not to take job as Chief of Naval Operations. The decision comes after the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer called Moran's judgment into question over a professional relationship he maintained with a former Navy public affairs official, who left the Navy after an investigation into incidents of sexual misconduct. He continues, "To be clear, my decision to maintain this relationship was in no way an endorsement or tacit approval of this kind of conduct." "I understand how toxic it can be to any team when inappropriate behavior goes unrecognized and unchecked," Moran writes. Both statements note the situation arose from a professional relationship over the course of Moran's career with the Navy, and was not a private relationship.

It is now increasingly likely Navy Secretary Richard Spencer will be named acting defense secretary for a brief period when Mark Esper, who is currently in the acting position following the dramatic implosion of Patrick Shanahan's nomination, is formally nominated for the permanent role. Due to federal regulations, Esper is expected to have to instantly step down as the acting secretary of defense during that confirmation process, several officials have said. Plan to have navy secretary step inSo with the assumption Esper steps down in the interim, there is now intense internal Pentagon planning to have Navy Secretary Spencer step in as the interim acting secretary. If this all happens it means Esper likely will vacate the secretary of defense suite of offices in the Pentagon and go back to his former office as Army secretary. A similar transition plan is being worked out for David Norquist who is being nominated to become deputy secretary of defense.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two men were arrested Thursday around the time of white nationalist Richard Spencer's speech at the University of Florida in Gainesville, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office said. Hours before Spencer was set to speak, deputies said, an Orlando man armed with a gun and wearing a media badge was arrested. Sean Jeffrey Brijmohan, 28, was booked into the Alachua County jail on a felony charge of carrying a firearm on school property, jail records show. During the event, deputies said, David Notte, 34, was arrested on a charge of resisting law enforcement without violence. Notte, of Gainesville, was booked into the Alachua County jail about 5:40 p.m., according to jail records.