A year after a deadly gathering of far-right extremists in Charlottesville, less than two dozen white nationalists marched Sunday (Monday NZT) across from the White House, their numbers dwarfed by thousands of counter-protesters, while the mother of a woman killed at last summer's protest said the country continues to face unhealed racial wounds.
The events, largely peaceful though tense at times in Charlottesville and Washington, were part of a day of speeches, vigils and marches marking the anniversary of one of the largest gatherings of white nationalists and other far-right extremists in a decade.
In Washington, dozens of police in bright yellow vests formed a tight cordon around the small group of white nationalists, separating them from shouting counter-protesters within view of the White House.
President Donald Trump wasn't at home - he has been at his golf club in New Jersey for more than a week on a working vacation.
CRAIG HUDSON/AP
Police shielded the small group of white nationalist demonstrators from several thousand enraged counter-protesters.
Counter-protesters, who assembled before the rally's scheduled start, vastly outnumbered Kessler's crowd. Thousands showed up to jeer and shout insults at the white nationalists.
Makia Green, who represents the Washington branch of Black Lives Matter, told Sunday's crowd: "We know from experience that ignoring white nationalism doesn't work."
CRAIG HUDSON/AP
Jason Kessler marches with other white nationalists to Lafayette Square during the "Unite the Right 2" rally in Washington.
Washington Police Chief Peter Newsham said only one person was arrested all day despite several tense moments, with police essentially shielding the white nationalist demonstrators from several thousand enraged counter-protesters.
Newsham called it "a well-executed plan to safeguard people and property while allowing citizens to express their First Amendment rights."
Earlier this month, Facebook stunned and angered counter-protest organizers when it disabled their Washington event's page, saying it and others had been created by "bad actors" misusing the social media platform. The company said at the time that the page may be linked to an account created by Russia's Internet Research Agency - a troll farm that has sown discord in the US - but counter-protesters said it was an authentic event they worked hard to organize.
STEVE HELBER/AP
Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer who was killed during last year's Unite the Right rally, placed flowers at the spot her daughter was killed in Charlottesville.
Earlier in the day in Charlottesville, the mother of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal who was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters during last year's rally, said there's still much healing to be done.
Susan Bro laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the site of the attack in downtown Charlottesville. With a crowd gathered around her, she thanked them for coming to remember her daughter but also acknowledged the dozens of others injured and the two state troopers killed when a helicopter crashed that day.
"There's so much healing to do," Bro said. "We have a huge racial problem in our city and in our country. We have got to fix this, or we'll be right back here in no time."
Hundreds of neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members and other white nationalists descended on Charlottesville last August 12, in part to protest over the city's decision to remove a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.
Violent fighting broke out between attendees and counter-protesters. Authorities eventually forced the crowd to disperse, but chaos erupted again when the car barrelled into the crowd.
RYAN KELLEY/AP
The vehicle plowed into a crowd protesting a gathering of white supremacists in 2017.
James Fields Jr., 21, of Maumee, Ohio, is charged in state court with murder in Heyer's killing and faces separate hate crime charges in federal court. He pleaded not guilty last month to the federal charges.
The day's death toll rose to three when a state police helicopter crashed, killing Lt. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates.
Among the other anniversary events was a Sunday morning community gathering at a park that drew more than 200 people. The group sang and listened to speakers, among them Courtney Commander, a friend of Heyer's who was with her when she was killed.
"She is with me today, too," Commander said.
Law enforcement officials faced blistering criticism after last year's rally for what was perceived as a passive response to the violence that unfolded. A review by a former U.S. attorney found a lack of coordination between state and city police and an operational plan that elevated officer safety over public safety.
The anniversary weekend was marked by a much heavier police presence, which also drew criticism from some activists.
Demonstrators on Sunday marched through Charlottesville chanting, "Cops and Klan go hand in hand," and "Will you protect us?"
The city of Charlottesville said four people were arrested in the downtown area. Two arrests stemmed from a confrontation near the Lee statue where a Spotsylvania, Virginia, man stopped to salute, a Charlottesville woman confronted him and a physical altercation took place, officials said.
The world wonders what has gone wrong. Where did all this hate spring from? Was it always there under a thin veneer of civilized behavior....seething; just waiting for a split in the moral fabric of America, so it could spew forth and set history back a couple of centuries? Did Donald Trump open that seam with a few well timed, lethal words of approval ?
If that is so, he released a monster that may never be forced back into it's cage. Did you know that in 2017 Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in the US increased nearly 60 per cent – the largest increase of any year on record. This trend has continued into 2018 . Please explain how this makes white people superior.
I get it. But think about it. What do THEY think they are doing? They are trying to prove that they are the ones who are being abused, who are the underdogs, the oppressed. The attention, the confrontation, the protests--those are fuel for them. Those are exactly what they want, and what make them stronger. So believe me, I'm not saying, agree with them. You want to challenge, why not try a different kind of challenge. The challenge of ice, not fire. Surround them with utter silence. Like, no one is in the streets. No cars are driving past. No one is watching from the windows. No one is taking notice at all. Clear the deck, and deprive them of what they crave most, which is the feeling of making people afraid. That will shrivel them up and wipe them out, as bleach does to mold. Give them confrontation, they'll always come back for more.The last time these losers tried to have a rally in DC a grand total of about 25 people showed up.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! That's what drives most hate crimes I guess. The haters feel they are becoming the minority; they are being usurped. They are insecure. A little, seeming, approval from Donald Trump was enough impetus or encouragement to increase hate crimes and assaults by a whopping 60% in one year. I could not believe the stats. Heaven forbid they make the Donald an honorary 'Grand Wizard'.
ReplyDeleteI think the challenge you offer works great for demonstrations or parades. The humiliation alone would send a great message. And it would filter down into the organizations.
But what about the random physical assaults, 35 mosque attacks, a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centers, and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries ? It is happening on a smaller scale in Canada too, like a pandemic. The analogy with mold really fits. The trouble with mold...it comes back.
Thank you for your comment... food for thought.