Vigils mark anniversary of deadly far-right Va. protest
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A year after a deadly gathering of far-right extremists in Charlottesville, a few dozen white nationalists marched Sunday across from the White House, their numbers dwarfed by thousands of counterprotesters, while the mother of a woman killed at last summer’s protest said the country continues to face unhealed racial wounds.
The events, largely peaceful though tense at times in Charlottesville and Washington, were part of a day of speeches, vigils and marches marking the anniversary of one of the largest gatherings of white nationalists and other far-right extremists in a decade.
In Washington, dozens of police in bright yellow vests formed a tight cordon around the small group of white nationalists, separating them from shouting counterprotesters within view of the White House.
President Donald Trump wasn’t at home — he has been at his golf club in New Jersey for more than a week on a working vacation.
Jason Kessler, the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event, led the Sunday gathering he called a white civil rights rally in Lafayette Square. Kessler said in a permit application that he expected 100 to 400 people to participate, but the actual number was far lower: only around 30.
Counterprotesters vastly outnumbered Kessler’s crowd. Thousands showed up to jeer and shout insults at the white nationalists.
Makia Green, who represents the Washington branch of Black Lives Matter, told Sunday’s crowd: “We know from experience that ignoring white nationalism doesn’t work.”
By about 5 p.m., those in Kessler’s group packed into a pair of white vans and left, escorted by police.
Washington Police Chief Peter Newsham said only one person was arrested all day. Newsham called it “a well-executed plan to safeguard people and property while allowing citizens to express their First Amendment rights.”
Earlier in the day in Charlottesville, Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, 32, who was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters during last year’s rally, laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the site of the attack in downtown Charlottesville.
“There’s so much healing to do,” Bro said. “We have a huge racial problem in our city and in our country. We have got to fix this, or we’ll be right back here in no time.”