A man who marched in the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville has been disowned by his family.

Peter Tefft of Fargo, North Dakota, “is a maniac, who has turned away from all of us and gone down some insane internet rabbit-hole, and turned into a crazy nazi,” said his nephew, Jacob Scott, in a statement to a local television station.

On Saturday, Charlottesville became embroiled in violence when white nationals, who were protesting against the removal of a Confederate statue, clashed with counter-demonstrators.

“[Peter] scares us all, we don’t feel safe around him, and we don’t know how he came to be this way,” Mr Scott continued. “My grandfather feels especially grieved, as though he has failed as a father.”

In February, Mr Tefft told a reporter in Fargo he was “100 per cent pro-white.”

Mr Tefft’s father said he and the rest of the family are entirely against his son’s racist beliefs.

In a letter published on Monday in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Pearce Tefft wrote that he and other family members “wish to loudly repudiate” his son’s “vile, hateful and racist rhetoric and actions.”

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

“We do not know specifically where he learned these beliefs,” Mr Pearce Tefft wrote. “He did not learn them at home.”

In the letter, the father said he has taught his children that “all men and women are created equal” and that “we must love each other all the same.”

“Evidently Peter has chosen to unlearn these lessons, much to my and his family’s heartbreak and distress,” he wrote.

“We have been silent up until now, but now we see that this was a mistake,” the elder Tefft continued. “It was the silence of good people that allowed the Nazis to flourish the first time around, and it is the silence of good people that is allowing them to flourish now.”

He said Peter is no longer welcome at family gatherings.