Charlottesville rally organizer requests permit for 'white civil rights' demonstration in D.C.

Michael Quander | WUSA-TV, Washington

Show Caption Hide Caption Charlottesville denies white nationalists’ anniversary rally permit The city of Charlottesville, Va. has reportedly denied Far-right organizer, Jason Kessler’s application to host an event in Charlottesville, Va. on the anniversary of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally.

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people are expected in Washington, D.C., for a demonstration in August on the one-year anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The National Park Service approved an application for the August rally, but no permit has been issued yet.

The Charlottesville rally, held to protest cities taking down Confederate statues, made national headlines last August when white supremacists and counter-protestors clashed. A 32-year-old woman was killed and several others were hurt.

Jason Kessler, who helped organize Unite the Right, is planning this year’s “white civil rights” rally outside of the White House at Lafayette Square. The park service signed off on the application for the event on Aug. 11-12.

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“This year we have a new purpose,” Kessler said. “That’s to talk about the civil rights abuse that happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.”

The Aug. 12 rally devolved into violence and turned deadly when police said James Alex Fields rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Fields, charged with first-degree murder, faces up to life in prison.

Kessler blamed the city and counter-protestors for the violence in Charlottesville.

A permit to hold the anniversary rally in Charlottesville was denied and Kessler has filed a federal lawsuit against the city to have the protest.

The lawsuit is pending.