A US state has passed a resolution calling for police to class neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organisations in the wake of the violent clashes in Charlottesville.

The Illinois Senate approved an anti-hate group resolution in direct response to the violence which erupted at a white supremacist rally in Virginia over the weekend leaving one person dead and scores more injured.

The measure, which was passed on Sunday, stated neo-Nazism and white nationalism continue to pose dangerous threats to cohesion and society overall. The resolution argued far-right extremism was accelerating in the attempt to divide America and promote hate.

State Senator Don Harmon, who sponsored the measure, said: “It is vital that we stand in total opposition to the hatred, bigotry and violence displayed by the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville this past weekend”.

The Democrat added: “They are the heirs to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazis. We fought two bloody wars in opposition to their ideologies. We must continue to fight those same twisted ideologies today”.

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.

The senate of the Midwestern state plans to send copies of the resolution to President Donald Trump, members of Congress and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.

Governor Rauner was subject to a torrent of criticism from Democrats for failing to label the death of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old women who was killed after a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters in Virginia, as domestic terrorism.

But after saying “What doesn't matter is definitions”, he was eventually forced to perform something of a U-turn and rework his position claiming: ”The deadly violence in Charlottesville this weekend is abhorrent and absolutely an act of domestic terrorism.“

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 (Getty Images)

The largest gathering of white nationalists the US has seen in decades descended on Virginia over the weekend. The rally was attended by neo-Nazis, skinheads, and members of the Ku Klux Klan clutching flaming torches and assault rifles and wearing paramilitary clothing.

Hundreds of anti-fascist protesters converged on the city in response and ugly clashes with fist fights quickly broke out in the street with pepper spray released onto the fighting crowds. Authorities declared the “Unite the Right” rally an unlawful assembly and later announced a state of emergency.

White nationalist, James Alex Fields Jr is being held in a Virgina jail in connection with the deadly crash near the white nationalist rally. The 20-year-old, who is from Ohio, was arrested on Saturday and charged with second-degree murder and other criminal counts.

In the wake of the rally, Richard Spencer, a leading white supremacist who helped organise the gathering in the generally peaceful quiet university town, has promised to carry on protesting.

Richard Spencer, who is president of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, said he had “the will to win” in the battle not to pull down the statue of a Confederate General, Robert E Lee from a local park – the initial reason for the rally.

“We’re going to be back here and we’re going to humiliate all of these people who opposed us,” he told the Daily Mail. “We’ll be back here 100 times if necessary. I always win. Because I have the will to win, I keep going until I win.”

Mr Spencer, who is crediting with inventing the term “alt-right”, blamed the Mayor of Charlottesville, Mike Signer, for the violence. Writing on Twitter, he said the attempt to stop the protest constituted an attack on free speech, and claimed that “Charlottesville was a total set-up”.

Mr Spencer’s pledge is at direct loggerheads with the instruction from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe who demanded white nationalists to “go home”.