The Straits Times
Car ramming, helicopter crash claim three lives at US far-right rally
White nationalists clash with a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, Aug 12, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
Rescue workers assist people who were injured when a car drove through a group of counter protesters. PHOTO: REUTERS
Rescue workers transport a victim who was injured when a car drove through a group of counter-protesters at the rally. PHOTO: REUTERS
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” clash with counter-protesters. PHOTO: AFP
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” clash with counter-protesters. PHOTO: AFP
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” take refuge in an alleyway after being hit with pepper unload. PHOTO: AFP
Rescue workers assist a victim who was injured when a car drove through a group of counter-protesters at the “Unite the Right” rally. PHOTO: REUTERS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, UNITED STATES (AFP, REUTERS, NYTIMES) – A picturesque Virginia city erupted in violence on Saturday (Aug 12) as white nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters clashed, with a car ploughing into a group of people and President Donald Trump urging Americans to “condemn all that hate stands for”.
At least one person was killed on Saturday and thirty five injured after protests turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, as white nationalists protesting plans to liquidate the statue of a Confederate general clashed with counter-demonstrators and a car plowed into a crowd, officials said.
Separately, a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed near a golf course and burst into flames, leaving at least two people dead. The helicopter appeared to have been monitoring the protests.
A 32-year-old female was among those killed, said Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas, and injuries ranged from life-threatening to minor. James Alex Fields Jr, a 20-year-old man from Ohio, has been identified as the suspected driver of the vehicle and held in custody on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Get The Straits Times
newsletters in your inbox
The clashes prompted the governor to announce an emergency and halt the rally, and US President Donald Trump condemned the violence. The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the Charlottesville car ramming.
“I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here,” Charlottesville Mayor Mike Singer said on his Twitter feed. “I urge all people of good will – go home.”
Movie on social media and Reuters photographs demonstrated a car wedging into a large group of what appeared to be counter-protesters, sending people flying into the air.
Hundreds had descended on the university city either to march in or rail against a “Unite the Right Rally.” Unrest quickly flared.
“We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for,” Trump tweeted. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Let’s come together as one!”
Ambulances quickly arrived at the scene of the car crash, which a witness told AFP was “intentional” – telling one damsel got “tore up” after the car “backed up and they hit again.”
He said the dark sedan “raced down here, leaped over the speed bumps and it backed up and it hit everyone again.”
“There was a dame that was on the ground; she was attempting to get up,” he added.
Hard to witness. Raw footage of a car plowing into protesters in #Charlottesville. pic.twitter.com/aASpT2dfsT
“A Challenger plowed into ppl about forty mph. Hit 15-20 people” Witness says it was intentional & police did nothing. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/hzRzdOjKjv
We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, two thousand seventeen
Am in Bedminster for meetings & press conference on V.A. & all that we have done, and are doing, to make it better-but Charlottesville sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, two thousand seventeen
Earlier in the day, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced a state of emergency, telling he was “disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence these protesters have brought to our state over the past twenty four hours.”
The previous evening hundreds of torch-bearing marchers demonstrated at the University of Virginia campus.
“It is now clear that public safety cannot be safeguarded without extra powers, and that the mostly out-of-state protesters have come to Virginia to endanger our citizens and property,” McAuliffe wrote in a statement on his emergency declaration.
‘NO FASCIST USA’
Before the collision police began clearing the city’s Emancipation Park after announcing those gathered there to be part of an “unlawful assembly.” By midday local authorities had reported one arrest and said emergency personnel had responded to eight injuries.
An AFP journalist at the scene witnessed demonstrators, some clad in militia uniforms, throwing punches and hurling bottles even before the official twelve pm EST (midnight Singapore time) rally embark time.
State police also tweeted that some crowd members were using pepper splatter, and local media footage showcased photos of riot police, national guard members and an armored vehicle in the city’s downtown.
A protester receives first-aid during the clashes. PHOTO: REUTERS
Movie footage from the demonstrations demonstrated anti-racism protesters swinging flags from the Black Lives Matter movement, as crowds chanted slogans like “We say no to racist fear” and “No Nazis, no KKK, no fascist USA.” Others brandished Confederate flags, today considered a symbol of racism by many Americans.
Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler, who had called for the white nationalist demonstration, on Saturday proclaimed it “a monumental event for our movement” even after police commenced clearing the crowd.
Saturday’s far-right rally goes after a much smaller demonstration last month that witnessed a few dozen Ku Klux Klan-linked marchers gather to protest the city’s planned removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, who led Confederate coerces in the US Civil War.
Tho’ they were outnumbered by hundreds of jeering counter-protesters, the extreme-right marchers – some donning the traditional white fetish mask of the famous white power group – spotted their pictures spread worldwide on social media.
‘VILE BIGOTRY’
This time, the extreme right brought in big names of the “alt-right” movement – which has been emboldened, critics say, by Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House – in a bid to attract more supporters.
Normally reticent Very first Lady Melania Trump took to Twitter to react to the demonstrations, writing,
“Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let’s communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence. #Charlottesville.”
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan also weighed in on the social media platform: “The views fueling the spectacle in Charlottesville are repugnant. Let it only serve to unite Americans against this kind of vile bigotry.”
Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let’s communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence. #Charlottesville
The views fueling the spectacle in Charlottesville are repugnant. Let it only serve to unite Americans against this kind of vile bigotry.
Even as we protect free speech and assembly, we must condemn hatred, violence and white supremacy. #Charlottesville
Friday night’s pre-demonstration also turned into a brawl after torch-bearers linked to the white supremacist far right were met by counter-protesters.
Charlottesville’s mayor Mike Signer dubbed Friday’s march a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism and intolerance”.
University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan on Saturday condemned that demonstration, telling in a statement that “the intimidating and abhorrent behaviour displayed by the alt-right protesters was wrong”.
One protester was arrested and charged with attack and disorderly conduct, she said.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which monitors extremist groups, said that Saturday’s “Unite the Right Rally” could mark one of the most significant demonstrations of its kind in decades.