Global InformationUnite the Right rally information
| Unite the Right rally | ||||
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| Part of antisemitism in the United States and neo-Nazism in the United States | ||||
 Rally participants preparing to enter Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, carrying Neo-Confederate flags, Confederate battle flags, Gadsden flags, a Nazi flag, and other flags | ||||
| Date | August 11–12, 2017 | |||
| Location | Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. | |||
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Decentralized Richard B. Spencer Terry McAuliffe | ||||
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The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist[4][5][6][7] rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017.[8][9][10] Marchers included members of the alt-right,[11] neo-Confederates,[12] neo-fascists,[13] white nationalists,[14] neo-Nazis,[15] Klansmen,[16] and far-right militias.[17] Some groups chanted racist and antisemitic slogans and carried weapons, Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols, the Valknut, Confederate battle flags, Deus vult crosses, flags, and other symbols of various past and present antisemitic and anti-Islamic groups.[23] The organizers' stated goals included the unification of the American white nationalist movement[11] and opposing the proposed removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee from Charlottesville's former Lee Park.[21][24] The rally sparked a national debate over Confederate iconography, racial violence, and white supremacy.[25] The event had hundreds of participants.[26]
The rally occurred amid the controversy which was generated by the removal of Confederate monuments by local governments following the Charleston church shooting in 2015, in which Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine members of a black church, including the minister (a state senator), and wounded another member of the church.[6] The rally turned violent after protesters clashed with counter-protesters, resulting in more than 30 injured.[27][28]
On the morning of August 12, Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency, stating that public safety could not be safeguarded without additional powers. Within an hour, at 11:22 a.m., the Virginia State Police declared the rally to be an unlawful assembly.[21]
At around 1:45 p.m., self-identified white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) away from the rally site, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 35 people. Fields fled the scene in his car but was arrested soon afterward. He was tried and convicted in Virginia state court of first-degree murder, malicious wounding, and other crimes in 2018, with the jury recommending a sentence of life imprisonment plus 419 years.[29][30][31] The following year, Fields pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes in a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty in this trial.[32]
US President Donald Trump's remarks about the rally generated negative responses. In his initial statement following the rally, Trump condemned the "display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides."[33] This first statement and his subsequent defenses of it, in which he also referred to "very fine people on both sides", were criticized as implying a moral equivalence between the white supremacist protesters and the counter-protesters.[7][34][35][36][37] Trump later stated (in the same statement) that "I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally–but you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists".[38][39]
The rally and resulting death and injuries resulted in a backlash against white supremacist groups in the United States. A number of groups that participated in the rally had events canceled by universities, and their financial and social media accounts closed by major companies.[40] Some Twitter users led a campaign to identify and publicly shame marchers at the rally from photographs; at least one rally attendee was dismissed from his job as a result of the campaign.[41] While the organizers intended for the rally to unite far-right groups with the goal of playing a larger role in American politics, the backlash and resultant infighting between alt-right leaders has been credited with causing a decline in the movement.[42][43][44][45]
After Charlottesville refused to approve another march, Unite the Right held an anniversary rally on August 11–12, 2018, called "Unite the Right 2", in Washington, D.C.[46] The rally drew only 20–30 protesters amidst thousands of counter-protesters,[47] including religious organizations, civil rights groups, and anti-fascist organizers.[48][49]
- ^ Weiner, Rachel (August 12, 2017). "Two state police troopers killed in Charlottesville helicopter crash while covering protest". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
- ^ Herreria, Carla (August 26, 2017). "Video Shows Man Shooting At Crowd During Charlottesville Rally, With No Police Response". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ "Charlottesville suspect arrested in Georgia to be extradited". apnews.com. Associated Press. August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
- ^ "Black man beaten during Charlottesville rally acquitted of assault". Fox News. March 17, 2018. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ Haag, Matthew (July 21, 2018). "'White Civil Rights Rally' Planned Near White House by Charlottesville Organizer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Lind, Dara (August 12, 2017). "Unite the Right, the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c Thrush, Glenn; Haberman, Maggie (August 15, 2017). "Trump Gives White Supremacists an Unequivocal Boost". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- ^ Alridge, Derrick P. (October 20, 2017). "The Events of August 11th and 12th: A Historian's Brief Reflections on Charlottesville". alumni.virginia.edu. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Fausset, Richard; Feuer, Alan (August 13, 2017). "Far-Right Groups Surge Into National View In Charlottesville". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- ^ "Charlottesville: One killed in violence over US far-right rally". BBC News. August 13, 2017. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Stapley, Garth (August 14, 2017). "'This is a huge victory.' Oakdale white supremacist revels after deadly Virginia clash". The Modesto Bee. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
- ^ Weill, Kelly (March 27, 2018). "Neo-Confederate League of the South Banned From Armed Protesting in Charlottesville". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ Gunter, Joel (August 13, 2017). "A reckoning in Charlottesville". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ Kelkar, Kamala (August 12, 2017). "Three dead after white nationalist rally in Charlottesville". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ Wootson, Cleve R. Jr. (August 13, 2017). "Here's what a neo-Nazi rally looks like in 2017 America". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ Park, Madison (August 12, 2017). "Why white nationalists are drawn to Charlottesville". CNN. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ Early, John, ed. (May 16, 2018). "3 Militia Groups Connected to Unite the Right Rally Settle Lawsuits". nbc29.com. WVIR-TV. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ "Deconstructing the symbols and slogans spotted in Charlottesville". The Washington Post. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
groupswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
HeimWaPowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Green, Emma (August 15, 2017). "Why the Charlottesville Marchers Were Obsessed With Jews". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017.
- ^ [7][9][18][19][20][21][22]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nyt94was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Franklin, Sekou (June 1, 2020). "Charlottesville 2017: The Legacy of Race and Inequity". Journal of American History. 107 (1): 275–277. doi:10.1093/jahist/jaaa165. ISSN 0021-8723 – via Oxford Academic.
- ^ "ADL".
- ^ "Hospitals: 30 treated after Aug. 12 car attack". The Daily Progress. August 21, 2017. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^ Yan, Holly; Sayers, Devon M.; Almasy, Steve (August 14, 2017). "Charlottesville white nationalist rally: What we know". CNN.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^ Mickolus, Edward (2019). Terrorism Worldwide, 2018. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4766-3747-1.
- ^ Duggan, Paul (December 11, 2018). "James A. Fields Jr. sentenced to life in prison in Charlottesville car attack". The Washington Post.
- ^ Jacobs, Julia (December 11, 2018). "Jury Recommends Life in Prison for James Fields in Fatal Charlottesville Attack". The New York Times.
- ^ Jouvenal, Justin; Duggan, Paul (March 27, 2019). "Neo-Nazi sympathizer pleads guilty to federal hate crimes for plowing car into crowd of protesters at 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville". The Washington Post.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Wagnerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Merica, Dan (August 26, 2017). "Trump: 'Both sides' to blame for Charlottesville". CNN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ Johnson, Jenna; Wagner, John (August 12, 2017). "Trump condemns Charlottesville violence but doesn't single out white nationalists". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- ^ Kessler, Glenn (May 8, 2020). "The 'very fine people' at Charlottesville: Who were they?". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ Holan, Angie Dobric (April 26, 2019). "In Context: Donald Trump's 'very fine people on both sides' remarks (transcript)". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
LAT170815was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:9was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kirkland, Allegra (August 18, 2017). "White Nationalists Are Feeling The Squeeze After Charlottesville Backlash". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ Newcombe, Alyssa (August 14, 2017). "Twitter Users Are Outing Charlottesville Protesters". NBC News. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ McWhirter, Cameron (August 8, 2018). "A Year After Charlottesville, the Alt-Right Movement Frays". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "The alt-right is in decline. Has antifascist activism worked?". The Guardian. March 19, 2018.
- ^ Hayden, Michael Edison (March 22, 2018). "Why is the alt-right falling apart?". Newsweek.
- ^ Bryant, Christa Case; Jonsson, Patrik (August 9, 2018). "Jason Kessler and the 'alt-right' implosion after Charlottesville". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Doubek, James (June 21, 2018). "'White Civil Rights Rally' Approved For D.C. In August". NPR.org. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ Heim, Joe; Thebault, Reis; Jamison, Peter; Lang, Marissa (August 12, 2018). "Anti-hate protesters far outnumber white supremacists as groups rally near White House". The Washington Post.
- ^ Allen, Bob (August 8, 2018). "Black, white Baptists to counter D.C. alt-right rally with prayer walk, communion". Baptist News Global. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ^ McWhirter, Cameron (August 8, 2018). "A Year After Charlottesville, the Alt-Right Movement Frays". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.