CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia governor declares state of emergency in response to white nationalist rally. </s> Governor Terry McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

His office released the following statement Saturday afternoon:

– Governor Terry McAuliffe released the following statement regarding the emergency declaration he authorized this morning:

“At 11:28 a.m., the Virginia State Police contacted me to request a state of emergency and I immediately authorized the declaration. We have maintained close contact with the Virginia State Police, the Virginia National Guard, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and other state and local officials on the ground in Charlottesville, and I agree that the situation in Charlottesville warrants an emergency declaration by me, in order to aid City and County law enforcement in their efforts to restore public safety and order in the City of Charlottesville and the surrounding area. In the days and weeks leading up to this event, my Administration engaged in extensive planning and preparation to ensure that the rally in Charlottesville could be held in a safe and lawful environment. These preparations included the deployment of a large number of state troopers, as well as the Virginia National Guard for support.

“It is now clear that public safety cannot be safeguarded without additional powers, and that the mostly out-of-state protesters have come to Virginia to endanger our citizens and property. I am disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence these protesters have brought to our state over the past 24 hours. The actions I have taken are intended to assist local government and restore public safety.

“My entire team will continue to monitor this situation throughout the day, and take appropriate action as necessary.” </s> Officials have declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville, Virginia, as white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters ahead of a planned major alt-right rally.

Thousands of supporters of "Unite the Right" are expected to descend on the area this weekend, with some pictured holding Nazi flags and making fascist salutes.

There were clashes last night after hundreds of members of the group marched on the University of Virginia, where they were met by counter protests.

Two people are said to have been seriously injured.

Anti-fascist protesters at the university also reported that anti-fascist protesters were surrounded and pepper-sprayed by a large crowd of torch-wielding hard right marchers.

Local authorities in Charlottesville declared a state of emergency in the area, meaning that it can request extra resources.

Police said that arrests were being made of people gathered in the city's Emancipation park, which has become a focus point for the far-right protesters.

Virginia's governor Terry McAuliffe has also announced a state of emergency over the situation to "restore public safety" and has put the Virginia National Guard on alert.

It is now clear that public safety cannot be safeguarded withoutadditional powers, and that mostly-out-of-state prot4esters have come toVirginia to endanger our citizens and property. > I am disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence that thereprotesters have brought to our state over the past 2 hours.

Virginia representative Don Beyer also condemned the group as "weak, ignorant and fearful" in a series of posts on Twitter.

Meanwhile the US first lady Melania Trump also took to social media to appeal for peace.

Far right protesters have focused on Charlottesville after the city's authorities decided to remove a statue of Confederate forces commander Robert E Lee.

Unite the Right reportedly called the march to "affirm the right of Southerners and white people to organize for their interests". </s> Protesters demanding his resignation gather outside the governor's mansion in Richmond on Saturday, February 2, 2019 after a racist photo of Gov. Ralph Northam was found in his 1984 medical school yearbook. </s> RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon in aniticipation of heavy rain and high winds from Tropical Storm Michael.

“I want to urge all Virginians to prepare for the serious possibility of flash floods, tropical storm force winds, tornadoes, and power outages,” Northam said in a written announcement.

Social media was already showing images of heavy rain and flooding in the Roanoke area as the remnants of the powerful storm tracked northward.

In Richmond, state government offices closed at 2 p.m., city offices closed at 3 and schools were being let out early in advance of the storm’s arrival. Dominion Energy, Virginia’s biggest electric utility, sent out warnings urging residents to prepare for possible outages and describing efforts to position workers to make repairs.

Northam’s emergency declaration allows the state to mobilize resources in preparation for any damage from the storm.

The move comes just a month after Northam took the unprecedented step of issuing evacuation orders for low-lying parts of Hampton Roads as Hurricane Florence approached.

[Pricetag of coastal Virginia’s near miss from Hurricane Florence could be $75 million]

Though Virginia dodged serious damage from that storm, which instead delivered its major blow to North Carolina, the state was on the hook for some $75 million in emergency preparation expenses. Officials said the federal government should reimburse up to 75 percent of those funds.

Thursday’s emergency declaration did not involve any evacuation orders. Virginia residents were urged to visit www.VAemergency.gov for preparedness tips, and www.511Virginia.org for updates on road conditions. </s> White Nationalist Protests in Charlottesville, Virginia has turned violent forcing Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to declared a state of emergency Saturday morning.

Charlottesville, Virginia has been a key area in the White nationalists movement after the City Council voted to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park formerly called Lee Park but renamed in June to Emancipation Park. The statue of Lee so far remains in the park but many want it removed.

Mayor Michael Signer voiced his displeasure about the protest in a Facebook post you can see below:

House Speaker Paul Ryan weighed in on the situation in a tweet.

Along with the Melania Trump but nothing from Donald Trump or Mike Pence as of yet. </s> Protests erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, ahead of Saturday’s “Unite the Right” rally. White nationalists gathered for a planned event, but were dispersed following a declaration of unlawful assembly. Protesters have been arrested, according to state police, though the number is not yet clear.

“We’re closing the University right now and sheltering people in place,” Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, told The Atlantic in an email.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency “to aid state response to violence at Alt-Right rally in Charlottesville.”

The University of Virginia said on Twitter that it was canceling all scheduled events and programming today “effective at noon.” Below is a gallery of photos from the scene. </s> Virginia's governor declared an emergency, and police worked to disperse hundreds of protesters in Charlottesville after clashes broke out ahead of Saturday's "Unite the Right" rally of white nationalists and other right-wing groups.

Fistfights and screaming matches erupted shortly before rally's scheduled noon ET start. The skirmishes unfolded following a scuffle Friday night between torch-bearing demonstrators and counter-protesters at the nearby University of Virginia.

Saturday's rally was the latest event drawing white nationalists and right-wing activists from across the country to this Democratic-voting college town -- a development precipitated by the city's decision to remove symbols of its Confederate past.

Here are the latest developments:
• President Donald Trump tweeted: "We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!"
• Police began to break up crowds shortly before noon after city officials declared the gathering an "unlawful assembly." Police officers spoke on bullhorns, directing people to leave.
• The declaration was made after fistfights and screaming matches erupted in several locations late Saturday morning.
• Some protesters fired pepper spray at other demonstrators, state police said.
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency "to aid state response to violence," according to a post on his Twitter account.
• An unspecified number of protesters have been arrested in Charlottesville, state police said.

Police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder behind shields early Saturday afternoon, at times advancing toward crowds, CNN video shows. Members of the Virginia National Guard also were there.

It wasn't immediately clear what led to the fights, though tensions and rhetoric were running hot. At one point, a few dozen white men wearing helmets and holding makeshift shields chanted, "Blood and soil!" Later, another group chanted slogans like, "Nazi scum off our streets!"

People punched and kicked each other during various scuffles, which often were broken up from within crowds, without police intervention, CNN video shows.

Earlier, a group of clergy and other counter-demonstrators, including activist and Harvard professor Cornel West, held hands, prayed and sang, "This Little Light of Mine."

Police presence was heavy, with more than 1,000 officers expected to be deployed, city officials said. Police anticipated the rally would attract as many as 2,000 to 6,000 people, and the Southern Poverty Law Center said it could be the "largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States."

Charlottesville, once home to Thomas Jefferson, is known as a progressive city of about 47,000 people. Eighty percent of its voters choose Hillary Clinton during last year's election.

But far-right activists and Ku Klux Klan members have come here in recent months, outraged by the city's intention to remove traces of its links to the Confederacy -- including plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The move follows efforts by communities across the South to remove Confederate iconography from public property since the 2015 rampage killings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a self-described white supremacist.

Ahead of Saturday's planned rally, tensions roiled Friday night as white nationalists -- some holding what appeared to be backyard tiki-style torches -- marched onto the University of Virginia's campus.

Chanting, "Blood and soil" and "You will not replace us," the group rallied around a statue of Thomas Jefferson before they clashed with counter-protesters, CNN affiliate WWBT reported. The group left the university's grounds when police arrived and declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

"In my 47 years of association with @UVA, this was the most nauseating thing I've ever seen. We need an exorcism on the Lawn," Larry Sabato, director of the university's Center for Politics tweeted.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer released a statement referring to Friday's rally as a "cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights."

"Everyone has a right under the First Amendment to express their opinion peaceably, so here's mine: not only as the Mayor of Charlottesville, but as a UVA faculty member and alumnus, I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus," he added.

Friday's march took place shortly after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction allowing right-wing activists to hold Saturday's rally.

City officials had tried to "modify" the rally's permit to move the demonstration from the park with the Lee statue more than a mile away to McIntire Park, citing safety concerns.

'We're going to start standing up for our history'

In February, the city council voted to remove the Lee statue, but that is on hold pending litigation. The council also voted to rename two city parks that had been named for Confederate generals; one of those, Emancipation Park, was due to be the site of Saturday's rally.

Saturday's event had residents on edge, and more than 40 local business owners near the park have asked the city to protect them.

"I have a lot of fears. I think most of us are just anxious, we don't want there to be violence," business owner Michael Rodi said of the rally.

"We don't want to see a bloodbath, we don't want to see looting, we don't want to see mass arrests, we don't want to see the police having to turn on citizens," he added.

Jason Kessler, who organized Saturday's "Unite the Right" rally, said he doesn't consider himself to be a white nationalist. But, he said, "we're going to start standing up for our history."

"The statue itself is symbolic of a lot of larger issues. The primary three issues are preserving history against this censorship and revisionism -- this political correctness," he told CNN Friday.

"The second issue is being allowed to advocate for your interests as a white person, just like other groups are allowed to advocate for their interests politically. And finally this is about free speech. We are simply trying to express ourselves and do a demonstration, and the local government has tried to shut us down." </s> RICHMOND, Va. -- In the wake of Friday's mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced a special session of the Virginia General Assembly to address gun violence and Virginia's gun laws.

"We must do more than give our thoughts and prayers. We must give Virginians the action they deserve," the governor, flanked by fellow Democratic leaders, said during the Tuesday morning press conference. "No one should go to work, to school, or to church wondering if they will come home."

During the special session, the date of which has not yet been announced, the governor planned to reintroduce many of the gun laws he tried to pass earlier this year.

Universal background checks

 A ban on assault weapons, to include suppressors and bump stocks;

 An extreme risk protective order

 Reinstating the one-gun-a-month law

 Child access prevention

 Requiring people to report lost and stolen firearms

 Expanding local authority to regulate firearms, including in government buildings.

The governor urged Virginia lawmakers to allow the proposed gun laws to go before the entire General Assembly for a vote and not kill them in a small subcommittees.

"Business as usual, with leadership shielding most of their members from taking tough votes by setting early morning hearings before small subcommittees, won't cut it. Virginians deserve leadership, and they will be watching. The nation will be watching," he said. "I will be asking for votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers."

Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox (R - Colonial Heights) called the governor's call for a special session both "hasty and suspect."

"While the Governor can call a special session, he cannot specify what the General Assembly chooses to consider or how we do our work," Speaker Cox said. "We intend to use that time to take productive steps to address gun violence by holding criminals accountable with tougher sentences -- including mandatory minimums.

"Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2007 and 2017’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, Virginia took a very deliberative approach that ultimately ended in substantive and bipartisan reforms to keep our communities safer. The governor’s call to Special Session is more likely to inflame political tensions than produce substantive public policy changes that will keep people safe.

“We believe addressing gun violence starts with holding criminals accountable for their actions, not infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.

"When the Special Session convenes, Republicans will put forward a package of legislation to stiffen penalties for those who use firearms to commit crimes, including mandatory minimum sentences. These steps, combined with our ongoing efforts to strengthen the mental and behavioral health system, are the best ways to keep our communities safe from those who commit violence with guns.

"The House of Delegates will convene upon the Governor’s call as constitutionally required and work within the rules we adopt and the regular legislative process to consider any matter before us. Our actions will be based on sound public policy and the best interests of the Commonwealth.”
The Governor of Virginia declares a state of emergency due to the protests.