Self-proclaimed far-right blogger, Jason Kessler organized an event called “Rally the Right” to protest the erasing of history and the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a local park.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared the state of emergency after rally supporters and counter-protesters screamed, chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday morning.
Arrests are being made following declaration of unlawful assembly at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville. #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/6XAn1hYLAS
— VA State Police (@VSPPIO) August 12, 2017
A vehicle drove into a group of liberal protesters this morning during the “Unite the Right” rally. Charlottesville, Virginia.
Video of car hitting anti-racist protestors. Let there be no confusion: this was deliberate terrorism. My prayers with victims. Stay home. pic.twitter.com/MUOZs71Pf4
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) August 12, 2017
But is that what really happened?
Passers-by got caught up in the crashes. Being treated by medic now. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/eSzfwN7UPm
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
Folks said counter protesters were hit by a vehicle as they turned the corner. Medics are here. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/qQAIRy7YSN
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
There is a big difference between the two. And yes FNIC does have a few valid concerns about the protest. Yes, there were a few people carrying Nazi flags. But, they were the outliers. Furthermore, if they want to carry Nazi flags, guess what, this is America, you can!
FNIC keep trying to spin this story out of proportion.
Local police estimated that at least 6,000 people are in attendance. Among those expected to attend are Confederate heritage groups, KKK members, militia groups and “alt-right” activists, who generally espouse a mix of racism, white nationalism and populism.
Note how KKK members and Confederates rank higher than nationalism and populism. And this is even coming from Fox News!
The organizer of the event has this to say about the mission of the rally. Can we not all agree?
Kessler said this week that the rally is partly about the removal of Confederate symbols but also about free speech and “advocating for white people.”
“This is about an anti-white climate within the Western world and the need for white people to have advocacy like other groups do,” he said in an interview.
Crowd members deploy pepper spray at Charlottesville rally #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/LPJqNnJPZg
— VA State Police (@VSPPIO) August 12, 2017
But why did these clashes break out? The left decided there was going to be a fight…
Clashes also broke out Friday night, when hundreds of white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus carrying torches. A university spokesman said one person was arrested and several people were injured. The school announced on Saturday that it would be canceling all scheduled events and programming today. They said the medical center would be open.
They sent in groups looking for a fight while screaming “we are here, we are queer, and we fight the KKK” alongside groups like Antifa. Come on. They knew what they were doing and they were hoping for a fight.
Protesters gather at Justice Park in Charlottesville #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/sprSzf0MTP
— VA State Police (@VSPPIO) August 12, 2017
City officials said the declaration allowed them to request additional resources to respond to the clashes expected between hundreds of white supremacists and those opposing them.
Even before things escalated and the traffic incident occurred, they had already declared a state of emergency. Why? The militia was there and they were getting scared. They had to have an official reason to send in the national guard and maintain their covert police state.
VSP troopers gradually moving protesters safely down Market St. in Charlottesville #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/D3QO9iZc8k
— VA State Police (@VSPPIO) August 12, 2017
It’s sad to see stuff like this happen. It’s not like this country isnt divided enough… both sides showed up for the sole purpose of starting$#%&!@*with each other. Show up with homemade armor and shields carrying bats and sticks to anything would be your first clue.. I bet you 3/4 of either group came from another town or even state to be apart to create bigger problems than what’s really happening.
Folks paid to start$#%&!@*by rich people. No better than a gang of soccer hooligans beating up the other teams fans.. if a statue of a man dead and gone offends a community it should be up to the community to decide on its fate instead of outsiders paid to protest.
‘ Since it is our countries history one way or the other it belongs in a museum for people to see and learn from. There is no balance in good or bad if you take one away from the other. People should learn from the past so it doesn’t happen again.
Same thing will probably happen in Lexington we have no law enforcement since gray took office
You people were not alive then,it is History,moron