At about noon, a group of white supremacists cornered protester DeAndre Harris in a parking garage next to a police station. Some of them fought back, but no one was arrested and the violence continued to escalate. A group of white supremacists formed up with shields and clubs and pushed straight into the protesters. And while police looked on, the crowd grew more aggressive. Most were nonviolent, but some black-clad militant anti-fascists had come to fight. Hundreds of people had shown up to protest the white supremacists. So that’s what we’re focusing on right now. Well, we’ve all got different assignments to try to maintain some sort of order here. We’re trying to figure out if the police are going to intervene to stop that or if it’s just going to keep going on. Pepper spray, people beating each other with sticks. Just want to let you know there’s been all kinds of crazy violence over here. White supremacists aren’t welcome here!Ī group of white supremacists, some with their hands taped up like boxers, punched, kicked and choked people who tried to block their path, leaving them bloodied on the pavement. And anti-fascist counter-protesters were arriving to challenge them. The white supremacists who’d beaten people the night before were returning. The morning after the torchlight march I walked into town with a group of clergy. They're coming in here the next day ready to do more. And they walked away and they got away with it. They were running through the streets, yelling at people. Had you ever seen that displayed before? You could feel how angry they were but also how happy they were, you know, to be doing this – to, to be intimidating people like this and this happy rage to be doing this. Yeah, it was like 100 people beating up like a small group of, of us, a small group of students. The thing that I was thinking as the melee was happening was: I, I just need to keep the camera going, you know. I stepped forward at one point and I got shoved back. We are surrounded on all sides by hundreds of Nazis. One of them, Emily Gorcenski, was streaming it from her phone. White lives matter! White lives matter! White lives matter! White lives matter! The police arrived on the scene, but watched from the sidelines as a small group of anti-racist activists were quickly surrounded. In a matter of moments, hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists assembled and marched on the university. You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us! The police had heard the same rumors I had, but the university grounds were quiet and it seemed like the march might not be happening after all. Not far from here is what, is what we’ve been hearing. What have you heard? Where is that going to be taking place? I’ve heard the same rumors but I don’t have a lot of details. Chief, we’re hearing rumors of there being another torchlight march tonight, an unpermitted march. But I’d begun to hear from other sources in Charlottesville. The day before the rally, a few reporters gathered for the police press conference. We were informed that the National Guard is monitoring this situation. Well over 100 officers from my agency, several hundred officers from the Virginia State Police. We will have a significant police presence throughout the weekend. I’m Chief Thomas, Charlottesville Police Department. They called it Unite the Right, and it was drawing individuals from at least 35 states.ĬHIEF ALFRED THOMAS, Charlottesville Police Department: I arrived in Charlottesville for what would become the largest gathering of white supremacists in a generation. This was not a place to listen or understand. I came here to ask questions, but as the day unraveled into chaos around me, one thing became clear. And being here would help me understand it. It felt like a national reckoning around race was coming. The Charlottesville rally was supposed to be about a Confederate monument, but anyone who was paying attention could see that it was about more than a single statue. I’d been tracking hate crimes since the presidential campaign, and I could see that something was happening in this country. Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017 You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us! You will not replace us!
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