People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of people demonstrating against a white nationalist rally after police cleared Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, August 12.

The vehicle moments before it struck the crowd.

A woman receives first aid after a speeding car slammed into this silver convertible as it navigated through a crowd of counterprotesters.

A man embraces an injured woman after a car rammed into the crowd.

Right-wing rally members clash with counterprotesters in Emancipation Park, where white nationalist groups gathered for a rally.

A counterprotester strikes a white nationalist with a baton during clashes at Emancipation Park, where white nationalists are protesting the removal of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee monument.

A counterprotester throws a newspaper box at a right-wing rally member at the entrance to Emancipation Park.

A counterprotester uses a lighted spray can against a white nationalist at the entrance to Emancipation Park.

Counterprotesters try to burn a Confederate battle flag taken from white nationalist protesters.

White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counterprotesters.

A white nationalist is seen with a cut below his eye suffered during clashes with counterprotesters at Emancipation Park .

White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the alt-right movement exchange volleys of pepper spray with counterprotesters as they enter Emancipation Park.

A woman is treated for exposure to pepper spray during clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters at Emancipation Park.

White nationalists use shields as they guard the entrance to Emancipation Park.

Counterprotesters line the route taken by white nationalists and neo-Nazis during the "Unite the Right" rally. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police, the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Emancipation Park, formerly called Lee Park and home to a controversial statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. </s> A 32-year-old woman was killed and dozens of others injured amid violent clashes between white supremacists and anti-fascists ahead of a rally protesting against the removal of a statue to a Confederate general in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A police helicopter also crashed, killing two people, with officials saying this was connected to the events on the ground, although it was unclear in what way.

A state of emergency was announced by the local and state governments with police declaring the "Unite the Right" rally an unlawful assembly and ordering the crowds to disperse. The state police were deployed, with riot police and the National Guard waiting in the wings.

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Some of the far-right group members were seen carrying assault rifles and wearing paramilitary clothing, while others had large shields, helmets and gas masks in apparent anticipation of violence ahead of the demonstration against plans to take down the statue to General Robert E Lee from a local park.

The 32-year-old woman was killed when a car crashed at speed into anti-fascist protesters, leaving a crowd of people lying injured on the ground. Police said they had opened a homicide investigation.

Officials said the pilot of the police helicopter that crashed had been killed, along with a passenger. They said the crash was connected to the violence but it was unclear whether this was simply because the officers had been involved in the police operation or because of some other reason.

Police were investigating the cause of the crash, which happened while the aircraft was hovering low over some trees near a golf course.

Hospital officials said a total of at least 41 people had been hurt in the violence, including 26 as a result of the car crash and 15 others from the fighting in the streets. Some were said to have life-threatening injuries.

Graphic video showed a grey Dodge Challenger speeding up a side street into a group of people and crashing into another car.

Shape Created with Sketch. Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Violence on the streets of Charlottesville 1/9 Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 2/9 Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo 3/9 State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo 4/9 Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images 5/9 Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images 6/9 Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty 7/9 A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo 8/9 Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo 9/9 President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism. 1/9 Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 2/9 Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo 3/9 State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo 4/9 Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images 5/9 Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images 6/9 Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty 7/9 A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo 8/9 Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo 9/9 President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Charlottesville police confirmed that a suspect, named as James Alex Fields Jr, 20, of Ohio, had been arrested. Officials said he was being held on charges including second-degree murder.

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Earlier the two groups of protesters were involved in violent clashes with pepper spray — used, reportedly, by both sides — filling the air, according to local media reports. Bottles were also thrown and a number of fist fights broke out.

The city council voted to allow the police chief to declare a curfew.

Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, who confirmed one person had been killed, said he was disappointed the white nationalists had descended on his town and blamed Donald Trump for inflaming racial prejudices with his campaign last year.

"I'm not going to make any bones about it. I place the blame for a lot of what you're seeing in America today right at the doorstep of the White House and the people around the president," he said.

Mr Trump put out a tweet condemning "violence" and "hate" - although he did not specify that he was talking about the white supremacists, attracting criticism on Twitter. He later blamed hatred "on many sides" for the violence, prompting a furious backlash from some leading Republicans.

Earlier in the day apparent militia members were filmed marching through the streets armed with assault rifles and wearing tactical gear.

Other demonstrators were heard to chant the Nazi-linked phrase "blood and soil" as they passed through the streets.

And on Friday night neo-Nazi protesters brandishing flaming torches descended on the University of Virginia, brawling with counter-protesters and throwing Nazi salutes.

The state's governor, Terry McAuliffe, said on Friday: "Many of the individuals coming to Charlottesville ... are doing so in order to express viewpoints many people, including me, find abhorrent."

He urged people to stay away and "deny those ideas more attention than they deserve".

The clash was the latest in a series of confrontations after Charlottesville, situated about 100 miles from Washington DC, voted to remove the statue of General Lee.

Celebrating the Confederate cause is a highly inflammatory issue in the US because the southern states supported slavery.

In May, a torch-wielding group that included prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer gathered around the statue for a night-time protest, and in July, about 50 members of a North Carolina-based KKK group travelled there for a rally, where they were met by hundreds of counter-protesters.

Charlottesville is normally a quiet university city, and many of those protesting are believed to be from out of town.

“People are angry, they’re scared, they’re hurt, they’re confused,” said the Reverend Seth Wispelwey of the local United Church of Christ.

“White supremacists rallying in our town is an act of violence.”

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report; additional reporting by Ian Johnston </s> It happened today in downtown Charlottesville, Va., the city that invites tourists to visit Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s slave plantation. In Emancipation Park, formerly known as Robert E. Lee Park, on the second of a planned three-day rally dubbed “Unite the Right,” thousands of counter-protesters summoned by Black Lives Matter and an allied white group, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), surrounded about 500 neo-Nazis, including former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke.

“Witnesses said a crowd of counterdemonstrators, jubilant because the white nationalists had left, was moving up Fourth Street, near the mall, when a gray sports car came down the road and accelerated, mowing down several people and hurling at least two in the air. ‘It was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,’” one witness said, the New York Times reported.

A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 were injured in the attack, which the police are calling a criminal homicide. The governor declared a state of emergency.

The New York Times story described the preceding scene in the park this morning: “Waving Confederate flags, chanting Nazi-era slogans, wearing helmets and carrying shields, the white nationalists converged on the Lee statue and began chanting phrases like ‘You will not replace us’ and ‘Jews will not replace us.’

“Hundreds of counterprotesters – religious leaders, Black Lives Matter activists and anti-fascist groups known as ‘antifa’ – quickly surrounded the crowd, singing spirituals, chanting and carrying their own signs.”

Witnesses said a crowd of counterdemonstrators, jubilant because the white nationalists had left, was moving up Fourth Street, near the mall, when a gray sports car came down the road and accelerated, mowing down several people and hurling at least two in the air.

Charlottesville activists demanding the Robert E. Lee statue’s removal are following in the footsteps of Bree Newsome, who climbed the flagpole in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., to remove the Confederate flag in 2015, and Malcolm Suber and his team with Take ‘Em Down NOLA that successfully pressed this year for removal of several Confederate statues, including one of Robert E. Lee, from New Orleans.

“Here in Charlottesville,” the New York Times reports, “the protest, billed as a ‘Unite the Right’ rally, was the culmination of a year and a half of debate in Charlottesville over the fate of the Lee statue. A movement to remove it began when an African-American high school student here started a petition. The City Council voted 3 to 2 in April to sell it, but a judge issued an injunction temporarily stopping the move.”

After President Trump condemned the violence, though not the Alt-Right, David Duke sent him two tweets:

“So, after decades of White Americans being targeted for discriminated (sic) & anti-White hatred, we come together as a people, and you attack us?”

“I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists.”

PSL Statement: Solidarity with the anti-racist, anti-fascist heroes in Charlottesville

by Party for Socialism and Liberation

No matter what disclaimer is made by Donald Trump, it has been his campaign of overt racism and white supremacy that has emboldened the KKK, Nazis and others who have re-branded themselves the “Alt-Right.” They believe their time has come. “Make America Great Again” and going “Back to the Good Old Days” are understood by the white supremacists just as Trump means them.

The KKK is a terrorist organization. It has been a terrorist organization directed against Black freedom and Black people since its inception.

It is disgusting that the corporate-owned media is drawing an equivalency between “the violence of the right and the violence of the left.” That only obscures the reality that the fascist and white supremacist movement is the incarnation of violence and terrorism just as it was with their Nazi idols.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation expresses our total and complete solidarity with the brave anti-racists and anti-fascists on the ground in Charlottesville, Virginia, confronting white supremacists. At the time of this writing, one has reportedly been killed and 19 people are in the hospital with very severe injuries, broken bones, after a fascist drove a car at a high speed into the protest. Dozens more have been injured in street clashes.

We salute the thousands who are in the streets, who have put their bodies on the line to say “No pasarán” – they shall not pass. The fascist rally, numbering around 500, was broken up by thousands of counter-protesters and prevented from marching on several occasions. Then the fascists resorted to using their cars. They rammed into protesters who gathered to stop the white supremacists from marching to a majority-Black housing project.

There is no doubt that the state is complicit in this fascist attack, enabling the mobs to roam freely. “The police took no responsibility for the streets, only one park in Charlottesville. As a result, five people are in the hospital,” said Phil Wilayto, an organizer with the Virginia Defenders, who was giving first aid to those injured alongside the local Black Lives Matter and Showing Up for Racial Justice chapters. “We cannot depend on the state to defend us from fascist mobilization. We have to do it ourselves.”

No matter what disclaimer is made by Donald Trump, it has been his campaign of overt racism and white supremacy that has emboldened the KKK, Nazis and others who have re-branded themselves the “Alt-Right.”

Organized white supremacists represent nothing but terror and violence in the United States. They are not a mere political or ideological current. Wilayto recounted: “These are not the Young Republicans; these are Neo-Nazis. One of their slogans was ‘Today Charlottesville, last stop Auschwitz.’”

Their growth poses a mortal threat to Black, Latino, Native, Arab, Asian, Jewish, Muslim and immigrant communities, to women and LGBTQ people, and to the organizations of the working class. Any action to preemptively stop their advance is therefore self-defense on behalf of millions of people nationwide. The liberal hand-wringing about violence “on both sides” – equating fascists with anti-fascists – is the height of cowardice and duplicity, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

It is a dangerous escalation that the fascists would feel the confidence to march with torches and weapons, and without hoods, through a city where they know the vast majority of residents oppose them. Electrified by the Trump campaign and presidency, they are now starting to form more disciplined and armed units. They must be fought every step of the way, through mass mobilization and direct action, and sent back to the shadows from which they came.

The fascist conference and rally was billed as one to “Unite the Right.” While they have considerable ideological and tactical differences, they are coming together in the streets to oppose those they see as their common enemy. Those on the Left must do the same, forging steadfast unity in the streets – as the heroes and martyrs of Charlottesville did today.

This story first appeared on Liberation News

Take Em Down NOLA Statement: White supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia

Take Em Down NOLA stands firmly with the anti-racist forces that today confronted the forces of Nazism and white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

We totally condemn the pro-white supremacist statement of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who erroneously equates those of us who are fighting for freedom and democracy with those fighting for oppression and racism.

These are the white supremacy forces unleashed by Donald Trump’s campaign and from his racist policies. Trump refuses to utter the words racism and white supremacy. It is precisely this discussion that must be had if we are to make progress in the USA.

The white supremacists who protested the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville committed acts of domestic terrorism: One person is dead and 19 are injured.

Take Em Down NOLA stands in solidarity with the anti-white supremacy forces that are waging struggles to remove all symbols of white supremacy throughout this country. On our part, we will continue our struggle in New Orleans to expose white supremacy and to remove all statues and names of streets and schools that honor white supremacists.

Take Em Down NOLA is issuing a call for the arrest and prosecution of all those who took part in this act of domestic terrorism. For more information, contact Malcolm Suber at 504-9317614.

Contact Take ‘Em Down NOLA at @takeemdownnola, </s> CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - An avowed white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters during a white nationalist rally in Virginia has been sentenced to life in prison on hate crime charges.

James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in March to federal hate crime charges in an attack that killed one person and injured more than two dozen others.

He will be sentenced next month on separate state charges.

Fields apologized before the judge handed down his sentence.

The "Unite the Right" rally on Aug. 12, 2017, drew hundreds of white nationalists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Fields admitted deliberately driving his car into counterprotesters who showed up to demonstrate against the white nationalists.

The case stirred racial tensions around the country.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage captured the moment a car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville

One person has died and 19 others were injured when a car rammed a crowd of people opposing a far-right rally in the US state of Virginia, police say.

Earlier, street brawls erupted between white nationalists planning to attend the march and counter-protesters.

The mayor of Charlottesville, where the now-cancelled rally was taking place, said he was "heartbroken" at the death.

President Donald Trump has condemned the violence, and local officials have declared a state of emergency.

The car involved in the ramming incident was later located a few streets away and the driver is in custody, the city's police chief said.

In addition to those injured there, the Charlottesville Police Department said another 15 people were injured in other violence related to the far-right march.

Late in the afternoon, a Virginia State Police helicopter, crashed in woodland south-west of the city, killing two people; however, there has been no indication that this was related to the violence.

The "Unite the Right" march was called to protest against plans to remove a statue of a general who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.

'Car backed up and hit again'

Video posted on social media showed a car ploughing at speed into several slow-moving vehicles, which were surrounded by a densely packed crowd.

A witness said one girl got "tore up" after the car "backed up and hit again".

Officials said the driver had been taken into custody.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A number of people received first-aid after a vehicle drove into a crowd

Image copyright AFP Image caption Witnesses said the car backed up and hit the crowd more than once

Police earlier fired tear gas against demonstrators and said that arrests had been made after a declaration of unlawful assembly at Emancipation Park.

The far-right protesters, some waving Confederate flags, carrying shields and wearing helmets, are angry about the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E Lee from Charlottesville.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The US president ignored questions over whether his response went far enough

Gen Lee commanded the pro-slavery Confederate forces in the US Civil War of 1861-65.

The New York Times reports that some of them were chanting "You will not replace us," and "Jew will not replace us."

Anti-racism organisations such as Black Lives Matter also held marches.

President Donald Trump condemned "in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides".

"The hate and the division must stop right now," he told reporters, speaking in New Jersey, where he is on a working holiday. "We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation."

Democrats and Republicans alike have taken issue with his choice of words, noting that he failed to refer to the role of white nationalists.

Republican Senator Cory Gardner tweeted: "Mr. President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism."

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Republican, felt similarly.

Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler had called for a "pro-white" rally in Charlottesville, and white nationalists promoted the gathering widely.

Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, said white power groups were present in Charlottesville - including neo-Nazis and factions of the Ku Klux Klan.

One picture tweeted by author J K Rowling showed a man on the street carrying a swastika flag.

The governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, said his only message for the white supremacists who had rallied in the city was - "go home." Speaking to reporters in Charlottesville, he said there was no place for white supremacist groups there, or in America.

At the scene: Bottles thrown

By Joel Gunter, BBC News, Charlottesville

There were very violent scenes at Emancipation Park and it took some time for the police to intervene.

Both sides were throwing bottles and rocks and using pepper spray.

The far-right protesters were a mix of different groups with shields and batons and the declaration of a state of emergency seemed to have had a significant impact on them, as they started to dissipate.

Shiquan Rah, a 21-year-old demonstrator who had joined the counter-protest, said about the far-right groups: "These people don't have a message, their message is hate and violence. This is a spiritual war we're in.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Joel Gunter describes the clashes, where groups were armed with shields and batons

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe urged calm tweeting: "The acts and rhetoric in #Charlottesville over past 24 hours are unacceptable [and] must stop. A right to speech is not a right to violence."

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer had earlier called the rally a "parade of hatred, bigotry, racism and intolerance".

US Civil War and alt-right links

1861-65 US Civil War between the northern and southern states was principally caused by slavery

Southern Confederate forces, which backed slavery, eventually surrendered to Union army and slavery was abolished

A number of cities have grappled with Confederate symbols that still exist today, with flags and monuments becoming key venues for alt-right groups in recent months

Supporters say Confederate symbols represent freedom and liberty, but opponents say their roots are in slavery

The alt-right is a disparate group of provocateurs who hate political correctness and love Donald Trump, but critics say they are bigoted white nationalists

The rise of the alt-right

The hoax about desecration of US Civil War graves

On Friday, the white nationalists held lit torches - which some observers described as a reference to the Ku Klux Klan - and chanted "White lives matter" as they marched through the University of Virginia in the city.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Members of a white nationalist group were armed and wearing militia uniforms

Charlottesville is considered a liberal college town - and 86% of the county voted for Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential elections.

However, the town has become a focal point for white nationalists after the city council voted to remove the statue of Gen Lee.

Some observers also argue that Mr Trump's election to the White House re-energised the far right across the US. </s> Rescue workers assist people who were injured when a car drove through a group of counter protestors at the "Unite the Right" rally Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 12, 2017. Thomson Reuters

Several injuries and at least one death have been reported after a car drove through a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon, according to video footage recorded at the scene and media reports.

The incident occurred after clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters subsided a bit. At least 19 people have been treated for injuries so far, and Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer said that one person has died. A Virginia State Police spokesperson told The Washington Post that injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening.

The incident appears to have been intentional, and the driver of the car was reportedly arrested shortly after.

The protests accompanied a "Unite the Right" rally that was called by white nationalists in response to a plan to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from a park in Charlottesville, Virginia.

One of the counter-protesters who was hit described the scene to a reporter shortly after. "There were just a few cars that counter-protesters were blocking," the man said.

He then said that the driver of the car was "honking their horn" and then "they were just, like, bulldozing through people."

Another witness had two friends who were hit by the car and had to take them to the hospital. The witness described the incident as "absolutely intentional."

"A packed street and a car comes speeding down, at least 40 mph and rams into everyone, backs up and does it again," they said in a text message to Outline staff writer William Turton.

"I am furious & heartsick by the car crash that has injured many," Signer tweeted. "Please all-go home to your families. We can work tomorrow. GO HOME! PLEASE!"

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency earlier on Saturday, as clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters continued to escalate.

Warning: The footage below contains graphic content and may be disturbing to some viewers </s> RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - The mayor of Charlottesville called on Friday for a special session of Virginia’s legislature to let localities decide the fate of Confederate monuments like the statue at the center of a far-right rally last week that turned deadly.

Mayor Mike Signer issued his appeal amid an increasingly contentious debate over what to do with memorials to Confederate figures, who fought for the preservation of slavery during the U.S. Civil War, that are seen by opponents as offensive.

In what has become the biggest domestic crisis of his presidency, Donald Trump has been sharply criticized, including by fellow Republicans, for blaming Charlottesville’s violence not only on the white nationalist rally organizers, but also the anti-racism activists who opposed them.

“Whether they go to museums, cemeteries, or other willing institutions, it is clear that they no longer can be celebrated in shared civic areas,” Signer said in a statement, referring to the statues. “We can, and we must, respond by denying the Nazis and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) and the so-called alt-right the twisted totem they seek.”

A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, was killed and several people were injured when a man crashed a car into a crowd of counter-protesters at last Saturday’s rally.

A 20-year-old Ohio man has been charged with her murder. On Friday, he was handed five new felony counts of malicious wounding, with the charges related to serious injuries inflicted on people hit by the vehicle, Charlottesville police said.

Some attendees at the rally were heavily armed, and Signer said in his statement he was also calling for legislation that would let localities ban open or concealed carry of weapons at some public events. And he said he wanted to find a way to memorialize Heyer’s name and legacy.

Heyer’s mother told a memorial service on Thursday that her daughter’s killers tried to silence her. “Well guess what? You just magnified her,” Susan Bro told the service.

Signer said that memorial was a profound turning point for him, and that it made him realize the significance of the city’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee had changed.

“Its historical meaning now, and forevermore, will be a magnet for terrorism,” the mayor said in his statement.

The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee sits at the center of the park formerly dedicated to him, the site of recent violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. August 18, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

RALLYING POINTS FOR RACISTS

Also on Friday, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order temporarily banning protests at the Lee Monument in downtown Richmond while new regulations governing demonstrations are put in place, the governor’s office said.

In many places, Confederate monuments have become rallying points for white nationalists. Efforts to remove many such statues have been stepped up since the Charlottesville rally, which was called by far-right groups to protest against plans to remove the Lee statue.

In Maryland on Friday, authorities took down a statue of a 19th century chief justice, Roger Taney, who wrote an infamous 1857 ruling known as the Dred Scott decision that reaffirmed slavery and said black people could not be U.S. citizens.

Trump on Thursday decried the removal of such monuments, drawing stinging rebukes from fellow Republicans in a controversy that inflamed racial tensions nationwide.

The mother of Heyer, the woman killed in Charlottesville, said in a television interview on Friday that after Trump’s comments, “I’m not talking to the president now.”

Slideshow (2 Images)

“You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ I’m not forgiving him for that,” Susan Bro told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

There are more than 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces across the United States, with 700 of those being monuments and statues, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.

The large majority of these were erected long after the Civil War ended in 1865, according to the center, with many going up early in the 20th century amid a backlash among segregationists against the civil rights movement.

More than half a dozen have been taken down since Saturday. </s> White House: Trump’s remarks on violence also referred to white supremacists

Charlottesville, Virginia, Aug 13 (efe-epa).- President Donald Trump’s condemnation of the hatred and bigotry on display this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, where acts of violence left one dead and more than 20 others injured, also included the white supremacists who organized the so-called “Unite the Right” rally, the White House said Sunday.



“The president said very strongly in his statement (on Saturday) that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred,” it said in a statement.

 “Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups,” the White House added.



Trump has come under fire from Democrats and even members of his own Republican party for blaming “many sides” for Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville and not explicitly pointing the finger at white supremacist groups.



Those organizations had organized a rally Saturday in that university city of 50,000 inhabitants to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that had been considered a symbol of slavery and racism.



The planned midday Saturday rally was canceled but clashes broke out with counter-protesters, one of whom – a 32-year-old woman – was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people.



Two Virginia state troopers who were monitoring the situation in the city also died when their helicopter crashed. </s> President Donald Trump reverted Tuesday to blaming both sides for deadly violence over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., and at one point questioned whether the movement to pull down Confederate statues would lead to the desecration of memorials to George Washington.

In an exchange with reporters at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the president repeatedly rejected a torrent of bipartisan criticism he has received for waiting several days before naming the rightist groups and for initially placing blame on "many sides" for the violence Saturday that ended in the death of a woman when a car crashed into a crowd.

He said that "before I make a statement, I like to know the facts."

And he criticized "alt-left" groups that he claimed were "very, very violent" when they sought to confront the nationalist and Nazi groups that had gathered in the Virginian college town to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park. He said there is "blame on both sides."

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"Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee," Trump said. "This week, it is Robert E. Lee and this week, Stonewall Jackson. Is it George Washington next? You have to ask yourself, where does it stop?" he said, noting that the first American president had owned slaves.

Lawmakers took to Twitter to denounce Trump's statements.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote: "We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."

"Blaming 'both sides' for #Charlottesville?! No," wrote Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. "Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no."

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, however, seemed thrilled, tweeting a link to Trump's Tuesday comments and saying, "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa," referring to the Black Lives Matter movement and an anti-fascist group.

Trump defended those gathered in the Charlottesville park to protest the statue's removal, saying: "Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch."

Trump unleashed a torrent of frustration at the news media, saying they were being "fake" because they did not acknowledge that his initial statement about the Charlottesville protest was "very nice."

Again and again, Trump said the protesters were not all Nazis or white supremacists, and he said it was unfair to suggest that they were. He added that blame for the violence in the city -- which also took the lives of two Virginia state troopers when their helicopter crashed -- should also be on people from "the left" who showed up to oppose the nationalist protesters.

"You had a group on one side and the other, and they came at each other with clubs, and it was vicious and horrible. It was a horrible thing to watch," the president said. "There is another side. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left. You have just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. You can say what you want. That's the way it is."

He also called James Alex Fields Jr., 20, the suspected driver of the car that crashed into the crowd, "a disgrace to himself, his family and this country. You can call it terrorism. You can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want."

Fields is being held without bail on charges of murder and malicious wounding in the death of Heather Heyer. His first court appearance was on Monday.

The president's remarks during a news conference about repairing infrastructure was a rejection of the more measured language about the unrest that Trump offered in a brief statement Monday from the White House.

In that statement, Trump appeared to distance himself from his claims Saturday that multiple sides were to blame for the weekend violence. But on Tuesday, Trump returned to his initial feelings about the subject, which poured out without much prompting from reporters at Trump Tower.

"There are two sides to a story. I thought what took place was horrible moment for our country, a horrible moment. But there are two sides to the country," the president said.

Andrew Anglin, the publisher of The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, had praised Trump's initial reaction to the violence Saturday as "no condemnation at all ... really really good. God bless him."

Anglin dismissed Trump's Monday statement as "childish nonsense." In an email to The Associated Press before Trump's latest statements, Anglin said, "If he actually believed that nonsense, or was planning on implementing it as policy, he would have said it before being bullied into it by the international thought police."

By Tuesday afternoon, The Daily Stormer posted an article entitled, "Trump Defends Charlottesville Nazis Against Jew Media Lies, Condemns Antifa Terrorists."

Trump said Tuesday that his Saturday statement was shaped by a lack of information about the events on the ground in Charlottesville, even though television statements had been broadcasting images of the violence throughout the morning.

"There was no way of making a correct statement that early," the president said. "I had to see the facts, unlike a lot of reporters. I didn't know David Duke was there. I wanted to see the facts."

But Trump also made it clear that even now -- with the benefit of hindsight -- he does not accept the overwhelming criticism that he should have reserved his condemnation for the white supremacist and Nazi groups.

Referring to the reporters assembled, he insisted that he had watched the protests "much more closely than you people watched it." He said he believes there were "bad" people on both sides, and he criticized others for being unwilling to say that.

"You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent," the president said. "Nobody wants to say that. I'll say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent."

Asked whether he considers the "alt-left" as the same as neo-Nazis, Trump said: "I've condemned neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups."

And he said it should be "up to a local town, community" to say whether the statue of Robert E. Lee should remain in place.

To Virginia's south, North Carolina's governor said Tuesday that he wants to bring down Confederate monuments around his state.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's call to remove the monuments from public property came as a sheriff began arresting people responsible for tearing down a nearly century-old Confederate statue in Durham on Monday night.

North Carolina is among three states with the most Confederate monuments, but the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a law in 2015 preventing their removal without legislative approval. Cooper faces an uphill battle against legislative leaders, who hold veto-proof majorities.

"We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery," Cooper said in a statement. "These monuments should come down."

Around the time of Cooper's announcement, deputies were arresting the woman who climbed the statue in Durham and attached the rope that was used to tear it down.

During a news conference held Tuesday by protest organizers, Takiyah Thompson identified herself as the woman who climbed the statue. She said her actions were a justified response to white supremacists.

"The statue had to go, and it's linked to white supremacy that we see today," said the 22-year-old college student.

After the news conference, sheriff's deputies arrived and took her away in handcuffs. The sheriff's office said she's charged with two felonies related to inciting and participating in a riot that damaged property, along with two misdemeanors. Investigators said late Tuesday that they expect to make other arrests.

Separately, Texas A&M University canceled a "White Lives Matter" event scheduled to be held on its campus Sept. 11, citing safety concerns.

The university said in a statement Monday that it canceled the event scheduled by former student Preston Wiginton after "consultation with law enforcement and considerable study." The event was expected to be held outdoors on Sept. 11, at Rudder Plaza, located in the middle of campus in College Station.

Wiginton was not invited by a campus organization, nor had any agreed to sponsor him, the school said. His notification to the news media about the event was headlined: "Today Charlottesville Tomorrow Texas A&M," which A&M noted in its statement.

"Linking the tragedy of Charlottesville with the Texas A&M event creates a major security risk on our campus," the statement said. "Additionally, the daylong event would provide disruption to our class schedules and to student, faculty and staff movement (both bus system and pedestrian)."

In a phone interview, Wiginton denied that his phrasing was a reference to the violence that had occurred in Charlottesville.

"Obviously, there are many white people in America who are angry and Charlottesville was a large gathering to express that anger and hopefully to address those issues," Wiginton said when asked about the phrasing. "So 'tomorrow A&M' meant another platform for us to be able to express ourselves."

Wiginton said he wanted to hold the event on a day when many students would be on campus, and one that would be easier for nonstudents to attend. He said the date was not selected because of a connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Not at all. I consulted with many millennials," he said. "And the millennials don't really relate to 9/11."

Information for this article was contributed by Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times; by Michael Kunzelman, Jonathan Drew, Gary D. Robertson and Allen G. Breed of The Associated Press; and by Sarah Larimer of The Washington Post.
Fights break out between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture. One person is killed and several people are injured after a man drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.