On Saturday, white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for the “Unite the Right” march. Met with opposition, the rally quickly escalated into a brawl; leading to three deaths, and at least 34 injuries.
The rally was originally to protest the plan by local officials to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee–military general of the Confederacy during the Civil War–from Emancipation Park in Charlottesville.
However, the rally quickly escalated as the presence of white supremacism and right-wing extremism, which, according to the Southern Poverty Center, is on the rise. Prior to the rally, hundred of white nationalists gathered on Friday night, carrying torches, Nazi propaganda and chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans.
Around 1:45 p.m., a car, driven by James Alex Fields Jr., rammed into another car, plowing into a group of counter-protesters, resulting in the death of Heather D. Heyers.
Two state troopers were in a helicopter, monitoring the rally when the helicopter crashed and bursted into flames, resulting in the deaths of Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M. Bates.
In total, at least 34 people were injured and sought medical attention. Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia declared a state of emergency.
On Saturday afternoon, the details of the event, along with photos and videos of the demonstrations, quickly surfaced across social media platforms. Many political figures spoke up against the situation.
“White supremacists, Neo-Nazis and anti-Semites are the antithesis of our American values. There are no other ‘sides’ to hatred and bigotry,” tweeted Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was met with criticism for his lack of singling out the white nationalists or neo-Nazis. When a White House correspondent was asked whom Trump was blaming, they responded: “The president was condemning hatred, bigotry and violence from all sources and all sides. There was violence between protesters and counter-protesters today.”
It wasn’t until Monday, two days after the protest, that Trump spoke up directly about the situation, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions deemed the attack “domestic terrorism.”
“Racism is evil,” said Trump, delivering a statement from the White House at an arranged appearance. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the K.K.K., neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”
However, after continued criticism for his response, Trump took to Twitter.
“Made additional remarks on Charlottesville and realize once again that the #Fake News Media will never be satisfied…truly bad people!” he wrote Monday evening.
