Tense confrontation amid peaceful vigils
Events mark anniversary of violence in Charlottesville
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The city of Charlottesville marked the anniversary of last summer’s white supremacist violence that sent ripples through the country with largely peaceful vigils and other events, but police had a brief, tense confrontation with demonstrators angry over the heavy security presence there this weekend.
“Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see no riot here,” activists chanted Saturday evening.
Shortly before a planned evening rally to mark the anniversary of a campus confrontation between torch-carrying white nationalists and counterprotesters, activists unfurled a banner that said, “Last year they came w/ torches. This year they come w/ badges.”
A group of more than 200 protesters — students, residents and others — then marched to another part of the University of Virginia’s campus, where many in the crowd shouted at officers in riot gear forming a line.
Kibiriti Majuto, a coordinator for UVA Students United, said the students moved to another part of campus because they didn’t want to be “caged” in the area where the rally was planned. Majuto said police “were not on our side” last year when white supremacists surrounded counterprotesters on the rotunda. “Cops and Klan go hand in hand,” he said. Charlottesville city councilman Wes Bellamy said he tried to diffuse the situation and told the police commander that students were upset by the officers’ tactics, with “over-thetop” riot gear
After a few minutes, most demonstrators began walking away. There were no immediate reports of arrests on campus.
At some point after the UVA rally, dozens of demonstrators marched off campus through other parts of the city, chanting “Whose streets? Our streets” and “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?”
The group made its way to downtown before dispersing.
The rest of the day was much quieter.
In the downtown shopping district Saturday morning, officers outnumbered visitors. Concrete barriers and metal fences were erected, and police searched bags at two checkpoints.
“It’s nice that they’re here to protect us,” said Lara Mitchell, 66, who works at a shop selling artwork, jewelry, and other items. “It feels good that they’re here in front of our store. Last year was a whole different story. It looked like a war zone last year.”
On Aug. 12, hundreds of white nationalists — including neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members — descended on Charlottesville in part to protest the city’s decision to remove a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.
Fighting broke out between attendees and counterprotesters that day. Authorities eventually forced the crowd to disperse, but a car later barreled into a crowd of peaceful counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
The death toll rose to three when a state police helicopter that had been monitoring the event and assisting with the governor’s motorcade crashed, killing two troopers.
On Saturday, remembrance events included a “morning of reflection and renewal” at UVA with music, poetry and an address from University President James Ryan.
Ryan recalled how a group of students and community members faced off against the white supremacist marchers near a statue of Thomas Jefferson on campus, calling it a “remarkable moment of courage and bravery.”
An independent investigation of the rally violence, led by a former federal prosecutor, found the chaos last year stemmed from a passive response by law enforcement and poor preparation and coordination between state and city police.
But Saturday’s security measures comforted some, such as Kyle Rodland, who took his young sons to get ice cream downtown. He said he felt much safer than last year.