A tense morning in Charlottesville, VA was followed by street clashes between Nazi marchers and counter demonstrators, causing Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to declare a state of emergency. Police, whose presence at the beginning of the so-called "Unite The Right" march was negligible, finally declared the white supremacists rally at Emancipation Park (formerly Lee Park) an unlawful assembly. The park is the site of a statue of Confederate traitor Robert E. Lee, which is scheduled to be removed by the city of Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia.
Confederate and Nazi flags festooned the march, provoking hundreds of counter protestors, some of which were the "Antifa" or anti-Fascist organizations. There were reports of several serious injuries as the white supremacists wielded clubs, poles and pepper spray against the counter demonstrators. Among the Nazi leaders of the march were Richard Spencer, Jason Kessler and the KKK's David Duke.
UPDATE: Speaking of Duke --
David Duke today in #Charlottesville talking how how the hate rally "fulfills the promises of Donald Trump." pic.twitter.com/nvldJpykvA— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) August 12, 2017
UPDATE II: A car has plowed into a crowd of anti-fascist demonstrators; story and more pictures here.
UPDATE III: Now, it's murder --
BREAKING: Hospital official says one dead, 19 injured after car plows into a group of protesters in downtown Charlottesville, Va.— The Associated Press (@AP) August 12, 2017
— Severin Jahn (@severin_jahn) August 12, 2017
UPDATE IV: Not surprisingly, Rump refused to specifically name or condemn the Nazi/ white supremacist/ alt- righters, blaming "many sides" for the violence.
(photos: top CNN. Neo-Nazis gather in Charlottesville, VA; bottom Andy Campbell, HuffPo))
