'Unite the Right' organizers ordered to surrender electronic devices for search

Jason Kessler and several other individuals and groups involved in the deadly "Unite the Right" rally have been ordered to turn over their cell phones and computers as part of a lawsuit.

The suit accuses Kessler, Richard Spencer, and several others of conspiring to come to Charlottesville to terrorize residents and commit violence.

This week, a federal judge ordered them to allow their cell phones and computers to be searched and that evidence can then be used in the lawsuit.

"This is a significant decision because it means we will be able to secure valuable evidence from defendants' own cell phones and other devices to use at our trial next year. The judge has made clear that defendants cannot keep that evidence from the plaintiffs and they have no choice but to comply," said Karen L. Dunn, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner and co-lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

The suit was filed by several people injured on Aug. 11 and 12, 2017, including a University of Virginia professor who suffered a stroke after a torch-lit rally ended in violence on UVA Grounds and three people injured in a car attack near the Downtown Mall. That attack, allegedly carried out by James Fields,

, resulted in the death of Heather Heyer.