Grief turns to grit in Charlottesville

College town somber, seeking way forward

CHARLOTTESVILLE,

Va. — Reeling from a weekend of racial violence, this bucolic university town remained numb Monday from the death of a local woman and the injuries to others during a white nationalist rally over a statue of a Confederate war hero.

“People are edgy; they don’t know who to trust,” said Roshell Hill, 28. “If we can get the haters out of this town, Charlottesville can heal from what is now a broken heart.”

A liberal bastion in the mountains of Virginia, Charlottesville became a rallying cry for white nationalists, who held a “Unite the Right” protest Saturday against a local effort to relocate a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

People from out of town poured in, and the violence between protesters and

counterprotesters escalated.

Heather Heyer, 32, died when a Nazi sympathizer drove his car into anti-fas

VIRGINIA

cist protesters. Another 19 people were injured.

A spokeswoman for UVA Medical Center said 10 patients treated there have been released. Nine others are in good condition.

While observing the protests, two Virginia state troopers were killed when their helicopter crashed.

On Monday, a makeshift memorial at East Water Street and Fourth Street Southeast attracted hundreds of mourners, who dropped off flowers where candles burned and balloons were tethered to signs that read “No Place for Hate.”

“I was close to this,” said Jackie Webber, who dropped off flowers. “I was here. It was just so horrific and scary.

“It makes me mad for Charlottesville, sad for the country, this divisiveness,” she said.

Driver held without bond

The driver, James Alex Fields Jr.,

20, of Ohio, was arraigned Monday on charges including second-degree murder and hit-and-run. A state judge ordered him held without bond.

Fields is a Nazi sympathizer and had a fascination with Nazism, according to published reports that quoted friends and teachers in Ohio.

President Donald Trump on Saturday denounced the violence but came under criticism for failing to single out white nationalist groups and white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which took part in the Charlottesville rally.

Trump, bowing to pressure from other Republicans and members of his administration, called out those groups Monday in comments at the White House.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said the Justice Department will investigate the crime as an act of domestic terrorism and defended Trump’s initial comments.

UNR student at rally

One of the marchers, University of Nevada, Reno student Peter Cvjetanovic, 20, said he came to the rally to “honor the heritage of white culture” but in no way condoned the violence that occurred.

Cvjetanovic texted a note to the Las Vegas Review-journal after a picture of him at the rally appeared on social media. Another picture was posted of Cvjetanovic and other students with Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., who said he did not know the individual.

Heller condemned the “outrageous racism hatred and violence” that occurred in Charlottesville and said he’s glad President Trump has sharpened his criticism of the white supremacists who incited the violence.

The events over the past three days have left Charlottesville shaken, “but this is a strong and diverse community,” said Zachary Taylor, 35.

A banner hanging on East Market Street, which runs past the park where the Lee statue stands, reads “Diversity Makes Us Stronger.”

In front of the Lee statue is a handmade sign that proclaims the area “Heyer Memorial Park.”

Taylor said he was out of town over the weekend, but on Monday, he was at the downtown memorial for Heyer and those wounded by the Dodge Challenger driven by Fields.

“The people here stand together,” Taylor said. “It’s not because of race.”

Taylor said the college town would not be identified by racial strife, like Ferguson, Missouri.

Webber agreed.

Contact Gary Martin at 202-6627390 or gmartin@reviewjournal. com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.