Woman dies after car plows into protesters; Trump’s refusal to condemn hate groups sparks outrage

A white nationalist rally on Saturday 150 km south-west of the U.S. capital turned violent, claiming the lives of a 32-year-old woman and two police officers, and injuring 19 people. The violence sparked national outrage that was aggravated by President Donald Trump’s response that appeared to qualify his condemnation of the incident.

The police officers died when their helicopter crashed.

During the day, clashes broke out between white nationalists and those opposing them, with local officials declaring the rally an “unlawful assembly” and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe a state of emergency. As the crowd scattered, a car allegedly driven by 20-year-old Ohio resident James Alex Fields rammed into a group counter-protesters, leading to the death of a woman.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides,” Mr. Trump said at a press conference. “On many sides,” the President repeated to add emphasis, and avoiding any mention of the white supremacist agenda, and appearing to apportion the blame between the racists and the counter-protesters who had gathered in the city. Mr. Trump has repeatedly blamed his predecessor Barack Obama for not using the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism” and always uses it himself while talking about Islamist terrorism.

Former President Barack Obama and several senior Republican leaders condemned the violence and the agenda of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally called by a collection of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups who gathered in the Virginia city, 150 km east of Jamestown, where the English made their first settlement in early 17th century.

Nationalists from several parts of American oppose the city council’s decision to remove the statue of well known Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a park under its management. Those who favour the removal of the statue argue that his association with slavery is a past that the city should not celebrate, while those who oppose the move say the statue is part of the State’s heritage.

‘In support of Trump’

“Shame on you. You pretend that you are patriots, but you are anything but a patriot,” Mr. McAuliffe said at a press conference in a message to nationalists. “I want to remind you that we are a nation of immigrants. Unless you are native American, the first ship came to this State in 1607,” he said, asking those attending the rally to “go home.”

The former leader of the racist Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, said the rally was in support of Mr. Trump’s agenda. “This represents a turning point for the people of this country…We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfil the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump. Because he said he’s going to take our country back. That’s what we gotta do,” he said.

Republican and Democratic leaders called into question Mr. Trump’s refusal to condemn the agenda of the right-wing groups. “We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home,” Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said.

“Very important for the nation to hear @POTUS describe events in #Charlottesville for what they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted. “Praying for those hurt & killed today in Charlottesville,” said Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. “This is nothing short of domestic terrorism & should be named as such.”

In a series of tweets, Mr. Obama quoted from Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite,” the former President said.

Confronting hate

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said generations of Americans confronted white supremacy and racial hatred, and “ours must do the same”. He asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “to fulfil his responsibility to protect the public by devoting all necessary resources to combat the threats posed by white supremacists and other hate groups.”

“Over the course of the last twenty-four hours in Charlottesville, we have seen men and women rally in support of white supremacism, including hateful ideologies born of the Confederacy and Third Reich. Many marched through the streets last night bearing torches and chanting ‘blood and soil,’ a direct translation of the Nazi doctrine of ‘Blut und Boden.’ Their choice of words was not accidental,” the lawmaker said.

In a statement, the Indian Student Association at University of Virginia said: “Now more than ever, we possess the responsibility to unite across all platforms to promote values of open mindedness and to celebrate diversity in the face of hateful ideologies. We must consciously make it our mission to encourage inclusivity and a welcoming attitude towards all minorities. One thing that this rally will not replace is our commitment to advocating tolerance and cultured attitudes across Charlottesville, and beyond.”.