Virginia Police Were Not Outgunned In Charlottesville, Documents Suggest

After the “Unite the Right” rally organized by white supremacists rocked Charlottesville, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe complained that the demonstrators “had better equipment” than the state’s police forces.

However, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) detail sophisticated, military-grade weapons Virginia police received from the Department of Defense (DOD) under its controversial 1033 program.

Shadowproof obtained a DOD document under FOIA showing Virginia law enforcement were provided with “aircraft, tactical vehicles, weapons, night vision/optical devices, weapons surpressors, and other items.”

A Memorandum of Understanding document between the Defense Logistics Agency and the State of Virginia, dated July 18, 2016, also shows the 1033 program is still ongoing.

(*Plus, a 2014 inventory of some of the weapons provided to Virginia under the 1033 program is available here, compliments of MuckRock.)











