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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 13 august 2018

Vigil, marches mark anniversary of deadly far-right protest

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN expressed confidence
and SARAH RANKIN the city can manage the
Associated Press events without violence;
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) the mayor and police chief
— A year after a deadly promised a massive securi-
gathering of far-right ex- ty mobilization to keep pro-
tremists in Charlottesville, testers and counterprotest-
Virginia, a few dozen white ers apart.
nationalists marched Sun- Earlier in the day in Char-
day across from the White lottesville, more than 200
House, their numbers people gathered in a park
dwarfed by thousands of to protest racism and mark
counterprotesters, while the anniversary. The group
the mother of a woman sang songs and listened
killed at last summer’s pro- to speakers, among them
test said the country con- Courtney Commander, a
tinues to face unhealed friend of Heyer’s who was
racial wounds. with her when she was
The events, largely peace- killed. “She is with me to-
ful though tense at times in day, too,” Commander
Charlottesville and Wash- said.
ington, were part of a day Last year in Charlottesville,
of speeches, vigils and Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer who was killed during last year’s Unite the Right rally, embraces fighting broke out between
marches marking the an- supporters after laying flowers at the spot her daughter was killed in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, attendees and counterpro-
niversary of what was one Aug. 12, 2018. testers. Authorities eventu-
of the largest gatherings Associated Press ally forced the crowd to
of white nationalists and Counterprotesters who as- park. were arrested. Two arrests disperse, but a car later
other far-right extremists in sembled ahead of the ral- In Charlottesville Sunday, stemmed from a confron- barreled into the crowd of
a decade. In Washington, ly’s scheduled start vastly the mother of a woman tation near a statue of peaceful counterprotest-
dozens of police in bright outnumbered Kessler’s killed when a car plowed Confederate Gen. Robert ers.
yellow vests formed a tight crowd. By midafternoon, into a crowd of counter- E. Lee where a Spotsylva- A state police helicopter
cordon around the small more than 1,000 people protesters at a white na- nia, Virginia, man stopped later crashed, killing Lt. Jay
group of white national- had already gathered in tionalist rally last summer to salute the statue and a Cullen and Trooper-Pilot
ists, separating them from Freedom Plaza, also near said there’s much healing Charlottesville woman con- Berke Bates.
shouting counterprotest- the White House, to op- to do a year after the vio- fronted him and a physical Law enforcement officials
ers within view of the White pose Kessler’s demonstra- lence. altercation took place, of- faced blistering criticism
House. tion and also march to La- Heather Heyer’s mother, ficials said. in the aftermath of last
President Donald Trump fayette Square. Susan Bro, laid flowers at a Earlier this month, Face- year’s rally for what was
wasn’t at home — he has Makia Green, who rep- makeshift memorial at the book stunned and an- perceived as a passive re-
been at his golf club in New resents the Washington site of the attack in down- gered counterprotest or- sponse to the violence that
Jersey for more than a week branch of Black Lives Mat- town Charlottesville. With ganizers when it disabled unfolded. A review by a
on a working vacation. Ja- ter, told Sunday’s crowd: a crowd gathered around their Washington event’s former U.S. attorney found
son Kessler, the principal or- “We know from experience her, she thanked them for page, saying it and others a lack of coordination be-
ganizer of last year’s “Unite that ignoring white nation- coming to remember her had been created by “bad tween state and city police
the Right” event, led what alism doesn’t work.” daughter but also acknowl- actors” misusing the social and an operational plan
he called a white civil rights By about 5 p.m., those in edged the dozens of others media platform. The com- that elevated officer safety
rally in Lafayette Square, di- Kessler’s group packed into injured and the two state pany said at the time that over public safety.
rectly across the street from white vans and left, escort- troopers killed when a he- the page may be linked The anniversary weekend
the White House. ed by police. licopter crashed that day. to an account created by was marked by a much
Kessler said in his permit ap- On Aug. 12, 2017, hundreds “There’s so much healing Russia’s Internet Research heavier police presence,
plication that he expected of neo-Nazis, skinheads and to do,” Bro said. “We have Agency — a so-called troll which also drew criticism
100 to 400 people to par- Ku Klux Klan members and a huge racial problem in farm that has sown discord from some activists.
ticipate, though the num- other white nationalists de- our city and in our country. in the U.S. — but counter- At one point Sunday,
ber appeared lower. Just scended on Charlottesville, We have got to fix this or protesters said it was an au- demonstrators marched
before 4 p.m., a contingent in part to protest over the we’ll be right back here in thentic event they worked through Charlottesville,
of fewer than 30 white na- city’s decision to remove a no time.” hard to organize. chanting, “Cops and Klan
tionalists began marching monument to Confederate The city of Charlottes- Government and police of- go hand in hand,” and “Will
through the streets. Gen. Robert E. Lee from a ville said four people ficials in Washington have you protect us?”q