Brief, tense confrontation amid peaceful vigils 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 an evening rally to mark the anniversary of a campus confrontation between torchcarrying 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 who had formed 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 had been planned.

“How does that create a sense of community? How are we going to be safe in that situation?” he asked.

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 the students were upset by the officers’ tactics, calling the officers’ riot gear “over the top.”

After a few minutes, most of the demonstrators began to walk away. There were no immediate reports of arrests on campus.

At some point after the UVA rally, a group of dozens of demonstrators marched off campus through other parts of the city, chanting things like, “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 had been much quieter.

In the popular downtown shopping district Saturday morning, law enforcement officers outnumbered visitors. Concrete barriers and metal fences had been erected, and police were searching bags at two checkpoints where people could enter or leave.

“It’s nice that they’re here to protect us,” said Lara Mitchell,

66, a sales associate at a shop that sells 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 compared to what it is today.”

A year ago today, hundreds of white nationalists descended on Charlottesville in part to protest the city’s decision decided to remove a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park. Violent 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 day’s 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.

Among the remembrance events that occurred Saturday was a “morning of reflection and renewal” at UVA.

Win McNamee / Getty Images A group of protesters known as “Antifa,” or anti-fascists, march on Saturday near the site of a makeshift memorial where Heather Heyer was killed last year in Charlottesville, Va.