• Protesters, cops, and free hugs: Charlottesville tries to make sense of incident,

Charlottesville tries to make sense of incident

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kim Ganczak waved her sign amid a swirl of protesters, officers with riot shields, and national news media. It read, “Free hugs.” “Because you can never fight violence with violence and win,” she said Sunday.

On Saturday, a white-nationalist rally in this city turned deadly when a motorist, identified by police as James A. Fields Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio, drove into a crowd of those counter-protesting their event. One woman was killed and many other people were injured.

At Charlottesville’s downtown mall, State Police officers in riot gear sat on a brick wall, taking a break in the midday sun. Hundreds gathered Sunday at the plaza to calmly make clear they do not support this in their city. People looked grief-stricken. In interviews, they shared exasperation Charlottesville was picked for such nationalist efforts.

“It’s disheartening. It’s scary. But it’s nice to know that it’s not us that’s doing it. These people aren’t from here,” said Ms. Ganczak, 26, of Charlottesville.

At one point, an organizer for the white-nationalist rally tried addressing the Sunday crowd. He was loudly jeered, followed by chants of, “We are unstoppable. Another world is possible.” A man wearing a plaid shirt punched him. Jason Kessler, the white nationalist, also was spat on before he darted away with the help of a police escort.

Resident Andrew Evans called Charlottesville an inclusive and open-minded city.

He said those who came to protest Saturday were upset over the future of the city’s Robert E. Lee sculpture. Residents do not want to ignore history, but are respectful of diversity, said Mr. Evans, 29.

At church services, pastors urged their congregations to fill their lives with love, not hate — a message echoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

“To the white supremacists and the neo-Nazis who came to our state yesterday, there is no place for you here,” he said.

As people tried to make sense of it all, a memorial vigil for Ms. Heyer was planned for Sunday evening before it was postponed because of the threat or rumor of more white nationalist activity. Flowers, cards and a photo of Ms. Heyer were spread on the street where she was struck along with a sign that read, “No place for hate!”