Some 40 to 50 people gathered at Emancipation Park where the statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stands, according to Charlottesville police. They were led by so-called alt-right activist Richard Spencer and were carrying lit torches.
Spencer published pictures and a video of the rally, showing protesters chanting "You will not replace us" and "We will be back."
HAPPENING NOW: @RichardBSpencer & white nationalist supporters are back with their torches in front of Lee statue in #Charlottesville. pic.twitter.com/CwVhxpN7r8
— Matt Talhelm (@MattTalhelm) 7 октября 2017 г.
White nationalists now chanting — “We will be back”. About 3 dozen supporters in Emancipation Park. Plenty of police on standby in park. pic.twitter.com/LuJEsAgxQy
— Matt Talhelm (@MattTalhelm) 7 октября 2017 г.
The rally took about 10 minutes. After the rally, the group left the park, boarded a bus and left the city, according to police.
Richard Spencer and a gang of tiki torch wielding white men are in Charlottesville by Lee statue, chanting "You will not replace us" — again pic.twitter.com/ZVJ2OwBpnG
— Phil McCausland (@PhilMcCausland) 8 октября 2017 г.
The rally sparked an angry response from local authorities. Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer took to Twitter, calling the protest a "despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards."
Another despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards. You’re not welcome here! Go home! Meantime we’re looking at all our legal options. Stay tuned.
— Mike Signer (@MikeSigner) 8 октября 2017 г.
"We are monitoring this situation as we continue to oppose these racists and their message of hate," Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe wrote on Twitter.
On August 11-12, a major rally of white nationalists protesting the removal of the Gen. Lee Statue took place Charlottesville. The protest subsequently led to violent clashes between the demonstrators and counter-protesters.
The skirmishes in Charlottesville accelerated the removal of public Confederate monuments in many American cities.
President Donald Trump's initial response to the Charlottesville violence faced a storm of criticism. The statement of the US president in which he condemned hatred "on many sides" apparently lacked clarity. Both Democratic and Republican politicians claimed that evil must be called by its name and in the Charlottesville violence there can be only one side with this label.
On September 14, Trump signed a resolution that condemned the violence in Charlottesville as domestic terrorism.
