Out In The Open

Man who captured video of Charlottesville attack still dealing with the aftermath

On Aug. 12, 2017, Brennan Gilmore was among the people protesting racism at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. By chance, he was also filming the scene with his phone when a man drove a car into the crowd, killing Heather Heyer.

'It has holistically changed who I am,' says Brennan Gilmore

Brennan Gilmore captured video of the attack at a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. that killed Heather Heyer. (Submitted by Brennan Gilmore)

This story was originally published on November 1, 2019.

On Aug. 12, 2017, Brennan Gilmore was among the people protesting racism at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

By chance, he was also filming the scene with his phone when a man drove a car into the crowd, killing Heather Heyer.

Gilmore tells Out in the Open host Piya Chattopadhyay how his decision to publish the video made him the target of conspiracy theorists, leading to ongoing harassment.


This story appears in the Out in the Open episode "Bearing Witness".