Press Release
Published on September 7, 2022
Spitalnick and IFA Spearheaded Lawsuit Against Charlottesville White Supremacists
NEW YORK — Human Rights First is pleased to announce that Amy Spitalnick is joining the organization as a Senior Advisor on extremism.
Spitalnick is currently the Executive Director of Integrity First for America (IFA), the nonprofit behind the successful legal effort to hold accountable the white supremacists responsible for the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.
“At a moment when hate, bigotry, extremism, and violence are putting our democracy at grave risk, Amy Spitalnick and her colleagues at Integrity First for America sent a message that will reverberate for years,” said Michael Breen, President and CEO of Human Rights First. “There must be consequences for hate-based extremism and racist violence. We are very proud to have Amy join our team and to carry on the legacy of the important work IFA has done.”
The historic verdict in November found every defendant liable, with major financial and operational impacts on the leaders of the white supremacy movement – while revealing extremists’ operations and strategies.
IFA’s lawsuit is now serving as a model to counter extremist violence; it is already being applied in lawsuits against those who participated in and planned the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
As IFA winds down its operations after achieving its principal goals, Human Rights First will engage IFA’s community of supporters to continue the work against extremism.
“Human Rights First’s growing ‘Extremism and Human Rights’ project is doing the critical work of exposing and taking on antidemocratic far-right extremism in the United States and around the world,” said Spitalnick. “As we face increasingly normalized bigotry, authoritarianism, and extremism, I’m grateful to collaborate with Human Rights First as we work for accountability and justice.”
Before leading IFA, Amy served as Communications Director and Senior Policy Advisory to the New York Attorney General. She has also held senior roles in the New York City Mayor’s Office and a number of other government offices, advocacy organizations, and campaigns.
Amy frequently appears in national media and has been named a Truman National Security Project Fellow, a Women in Power Fellow at the 92nd Street Y, and a City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star.
