Protests in US against white supremacists

CONDEMNATION Antifascist protests, march to Trump’s New York home held

As thousands protested across the US, pressure is mounting for President Donald Trump to explicitly condemn white supremacists and hate groups involved in the deadly, race-fueled clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump has been at his New Jersey golf club on a working vacation. He is set to make a oneday return to Washington on Monday to sign an executive action on China’s trade practices.

But he will likely be unable to escape questions and criticism for his initial response to Saturday’s violence. At the time he blamed bigotry on “many sides.”

The White House has tried to stem the damage, sending aides to the Sunday news shows and putting out a new statement on the attacks. Vice President Mike Pence condemned “fringe groups,” singling out white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

Protesters decrying hatred and racism converged around the country, saying they felt compelled to counteract the white supremacist rally that spiraled into deadly violence in Virginia.

The gatherings spanned from anti-fascist protests in San Francisco to a march to President Donald Trump’s home in New York. Some focused on showing support for the people whom white supremacists condemn.

Other demonstrations were pushing for the removal of Confederate monuments, the issue that initially prompted white nationalists to gather.

AFP Protestors hold a picture of Heather Heyer, who was killed during violence at a white nationalist rally, and a puppet of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a march in Chicago.