US capital braced for protest clashes
White nationalist rally coincides with Charlottesville anniversary
Washington braced for a white nationalist rally yesterday, organised to coincide with the anniversary of last year’s racially charged violence in Charlottesville city, Virginia.
The ‘Unite the Right 2’ event was scheduled to take place at 5.30pm in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House.
Several counter protests had also received permission to gather nearby.
Authorities have promised an enormous police presence to keep both sides apart and avoid the street brawls that broke out last year in downtown Charlottesville, on August 12, 2017. A local woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when an Ohio man, James Fields, drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters.
At the time, the US President Donald Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides, spurring criticism from across the political divide that he was equating the counter protesters with the rally attendees, who included neo-Nazis and other white supremacists. On Saturday, Trump condemned “all types of racism” in a Twitter post marking the anniversary.
In Washington on Saturday evening, nearly two dozen police officers patrolled Lafayette Square. Members of the Washington chapter of Black Lives Matter were sprinkled through the park.
Organisers of #OccupyLafayettePark, a civil-rights group that holds nightly protests in the square, held up posters reading “Love America, Hate Trump” and “Defend The District From White Supremacy” just a few steps away from the White House.
Hundreds of police officers maintained a security perimeter around the normally bustling downtown district in Charlottesville.
Virginia rally
In Charlottesville, hundreds of police officers maintained a security perimeter around the normally bustling downtown district. Vehicular traffic was barred from an area of more than 15 city blocks, while pedestrians were allowed access at two checkpoints. Hundreds took to the streets on Saturday, as a rally planned for the University of Virginia turned into a march through the city.