YOUR FAVORITE LOGO TV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Heather Heyer’s Father Offers Heartbreaking Tribute: "She Wanted Equality"

"I'm truly proud of my daughter," said Mark Heyer.

The father of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman killed in Charlottesville by James Alex Fields Jr., praised his daughter at a memorial service this week.

“[Heather] loved people,” Mark Heyer said, a sticker with his daughter’s name visible on his chest. “She wanted equality. And in this issue, on the day of her passing, she wanted to put down hate.”

He went on to explain Heather’s dedication to acceptance.

“I came here today and was overwhelmed at the rainbow of colors in this room. That’s how Heather was. It didn’t matter who you were or where you were from, if she loved you that was it. You were stuck. For that, I’m truly proud of my daughter.”

Andrew Shurtleff-Pool/Getty Images

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - AUGUST 16: People make their way to the Paramount Theater where a funeral service is held for Heather Heyer on Wednesday, August 116, 2017, in Charlottesville, VA. Heyer was killed after a car rammed into a group of people during a planned United the Right rally last Saturday. (Photo by Andrew Shurtleff-Pool/Getty Images)

Heather’s mother, Susan Bro, spoke of her daughter with similar admiration.

“I don’t want her death to be a focus for more hatred,” she told The Huffington Post. “I want her death to be a rallying cry for justice and equality and fairness and compassion.”

Though Donald Trump reached out to Bro, she told Good Morning America today that she refused to speak to the president after he equated white nationalists and counter-protesters. “I’m not talking to the president now, I’m sorry, after what he said about my child.”

She'd initially thanked Trump for his condolences, but after hearing his disastrous press conference on Tuesday, she had a change of heart: “You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying you’re sorry. I’m not forgiving for that.”

Latest News