White nationalists outnumbered at rally
White nationalist ralliers find they’re outnumbered
Washington march met by much larger group of counterprotesters
WASHINGTON – Thousands of counterprotesters heavily outnumbered a small group of white nationalists holding a “Unite the Right 2” rally Sunday, a day that was largely peaceful but marked by a few confrontations on the streets of the nation’s capital.
Unite the Right 2 organizer Jason Kessler said he expected 100 to 400 farright activists to attend. About two dozen arrived at a subway station near the White House and were escorted by police to the rally site at nearby Lafayette Square.
Before their arrival, thousands of counterprotesters were out in force all day to observe the one-year anniversary of a white nationalist rally a year ago in Charlottesville, Virginia. That event, the first Unite the Right rally, sparked chaos, violence and resulted in the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer, 32.
White nationalists wearing American flags around their faces and as capes arrived in the city to expletives and livid demonstrators. Police escorted them in a tight square, blocked by bicycles and motorcycles.
As the white nationalists proceeded to Lafayette Square, counterprotesters tried pushing into the group, and at least one hurled something at police and the rallygoers. It’s unclear whether anyone was injured.
“Punch a Nazi in the face!” a group of anti-fascist protesters screamed. The group joined forces with Black Lives Matter protesters and walked back and forth around the heavily guarded White House perimeter.
A counterprotester ignited what appeared to be a smoke flare, leading to members of the Secret Service pulling out batons to break up the crowd.
Tensions escalated further as a rain spell came through. Counterprotesters threw water and a chemical substance on a man and woman wearing “Trump 2020” T-shirts as they walked away from Lafayette Square.
Some counterprotesters who had their faces covered and wore all black pushed the couple, pulled their hair and screamed, “How you like my city now?”
The couple were protected by a group of peace officers who held one another’s hands to keep a barrier until they got to police. It was unclear whether the couple were with the white nationalists.
While the dozen or so white nationalists were quietly escorted out of Lafayette Square, hundreds of counterprotesters gathered at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street. The group, which included Black Lives Matter and anti-fascists, led a tense march through the city, shouting, “No borders! No walls! No USA at all!”
Several counterprotesters kicked over signs and trash cans. Police used pepper spray to disperse the marchers.
Earlier in the day, Kessler kicked off Unite the Right 2 speeches, discussing what he sees as the injustice of last year’s events in Charlottesville.
“That’s why I wanted to speak to President Trump at the White House,” he said. “It was criminal conduct by the Charlottesville government.”
Those watching the speeches carried American flags and White Lives Matter signs. Speakers addressed alleged civil rights abuses, including “interracial rape of white women” and attacks on white people in South Africa. Others spoke more generally about free speech and being American, arguing any white person who loves their country counts as a white nationalist.
Charles Edward Lincoln, the second speaker, slammed the “power elite” that is “trying to destroy everything that’s good about the United States of America.”
His words were nearly drowned out by the cries of counterprotesters.
Rap and reggaeton blared from large speakers where counterprotesters carried anti-fascist flags and signs at Freedom Plaza, a few blocks from the White House.
“When I first heard that these folks were coming to D.C., I had to say, ‘Hell no, not in my town,’ ” the Rev. Graylan Hagler told the crowd.
John Walsh, 43, said he traveled from Boston to help ensure that counterprotesters overwhelmingly outnumbered white supremacists.
“I’m here to drown out hate and amplify this message,” he said. “As a white, middle-age man, I think I have a voice and feel a duty to use it to counter this insanity.”