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The 10 residents filed suit in federal court in California on Jan. 30 to halt Damigo鈥檚 bankruptcy聽until the completion of a civil suit stemming from an Aug. 11, 2017, Tiki torch march聽at the University of Virginia and the activities surrounding the violent 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� rally the next day.

In the Charlottesville lawsuit, the plaintiffs say Damigo and others conspired to hurt Jewish people and minorities. Damigo and the white nationalist group Identity Evropa聽also 鈥渢ook the lead鈥� in organizing white supremacist groups leading up to 鈥淯nite the Right,鈥�聽attorney Robert Eisenbach III wrote for the Charlottesville residents.

鈥淒amigo鈥檚 conduct was wrongful, without just cause, and excessive,鈥� Eisenbach wrote.

Damigo is one of two dozen racist and 鈥渁lt-right鈥� figures named defendants in the Virginia lawsuit. The plaintiffs are University of Virginia students and staff, along with ministers and business owners.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim economic, emotional and physical injuries as a result of the march and the racist rally.

The lawsuit is scheduled for trial from July 8 through Aug. 2 in Charlottesville. Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

Damigo, an Oakdale, California, resident, sought federal bankruptcy protection Jan. 2. In the petition, he listed the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit as potential creditors, but the amount owed to them as 鈥渦nknown.鈥�

Federal bankruptcy law bars people from seeking to discharge debts caused by 鈥渨illful and malicious injury.鈥�

Damigo is a familiar face in the alt-right movement.

During an event called 鈥淭he Battle of Berkeley,鈥�聽on April 15, 2017, Damigo hit a 95-pound antifa protester in the face. Things became so chaotic and violent that day that police fired tear gas into the crowd.

The alt-right created a meme based on that punch portraying Damigo as a hero and modern day warrior.

In the lawsuit, Eisenbach described the confrontation in Berkeley as a 鈥渢est run鈥� for 鈥淯nite the Right.鈥�

At the torch-lit march at the University of Virginia on Aug. 11, 2017, racists chanted 鈥淵ou will not replace us,鈥� a phrase adopted and popularized by Identity Evropa.

Damigo, who has a conviction for robbery, stepped down as head of Identity Evropa in August 2017. But the bankruptcy filing still lists the group鈥檚 base as Damigo鈥檚 address in Oakdale, California.

Damigo and Identity Evropa were involved in the planning for 鈥淯nite the Right,鈥�聽but later tried to publicly distance themselves from the rally and its organizer, Jason Kessler.

Since Damigo left Identity Evropa, it has had two leaders: Eli Mosley, also known as Elliott Kline, and its current top dog, Patrick Casey.

In declaring bankruptcy, Damigo listed nearly all of his assets, including a 2006 BMW 325i valued at $2,532, a variety of woodworking and construction equipment valued at $1,764.18 and a golden retriever dog, which he valued at $500, as exempt from being sold to pay off creditors.

(In a separate part of the bankruptcy documents, he values that same golden retriever at $250.)

If Damigo loses in bankruptcy court and continues on with the bankruptcy process, it could expose his assets to being sold to settle any judgment against him in the civil suit.

By allowing Damigo to declare bankruptcy, the court could face more complicated legal issues later on, Eisenbach wrote.

Allowing Damigo to shield his assets in bankruptcy could force the bankruptcy court to hear much of the evidence in the Charlottesville case after the trial in Virginia. Delaying Damigo鈥檚 bankruptcy would save time and effort and eliminate the risk of the bankruptcy court in California and the civil court in Virginia from issuing contradictory rulings, Eisenbach wrote.

鈥淧laintiffs will bear the brunt of the prejudice and expense arising from dual litigation 鈥� because they will have to essentially prosecute the same case twice.鈥�

鈥淯nite the Right鈥� ended before it officially got started, having devolved into a series of fights and a riot. Later in the day, 21-year-old James Alex Fields聽drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring nearly a dozen other people.

Fields has been sentenced to life plus 419 years in prison and faces federal hate crimes charges.

A hearing date for the lawsuit has not been set.

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