Activists in Charlottesville, Virginia – the site of a violent, white-supremacist rally over the summer – claim to have chased a prominent white supremacist out of a city council meeting.

The organiser of the Unite the Right rally, Jason Kessler, recently signed up to speak at a Charlottesville town meeting. Seeing his name of the speaker’s list that day, city council member Kristin Szakos told The Independent she thought: “Uh-oh, this could get ugly.”

But Ms Szakos had nothing to worry about. When she called Mr Kessler’s name, he did not appear. Instead, someone called out from the audience: “We chased him out of town!”

“We found him and his friends and we chased him out of town tonight," yelled another. "That’s why he’s not in this room right now."

The meeting room erupted in applause. Several townspeople got to their feet to cheer.

“That’s appreciated,” one city council member announced through his microphone.

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.

Afterward, Ms Szakos talked to activists who said they had followed Mr Kessler out of the meeting, and into a town nearly 45 minutes away.

"This whole time we had been sitting in a meeting, they had been chasing him out of town with their car," she said.

A local activist group called Solidarity CVille celebrated the news online. The organisation claimed Mr Kessler, a Charlottesville resident, had met with members of a white supremacist organisation in Charlottesville that day.

“When word spread of these sightings, community members gathered to protect and defend Charlottesville from the presence of these white supremacists,” Solidarity CVille wrote in a post on Medium.

Charlottesville police said they did not receive any reports of the white supremacist organisation, League of the South, organising on Monday. Mr Kessler did not respond to requests for comment.

Nazi shouts "Hey n****" and fires gunshot at counter-protester in Charlottesville

Charlottesville was shaken by the force of the Unite the Right rally this summer, when thousands of people descended on the small, southern city to protest the removal of a Confederate statue.

Members of neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan, and other white supremacist groups flocked to the event, said to be the largest white supremacist gathering in decade.

Dozens of people were injured in clashes between protesters and counter-protesters over the balmy August weekend. One woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed.

At the end of Monday’s city council meeting, members voted to name a street in downtown Charlottesville “Heather Heyer Way”.

“We can’t bring her back, and if we could bring her back we would,” said Neighbourhood Development Services Director Alex Ikefuna, who presented the proposal.