Counter-protesters far outnumbered the handful of white supremacists who rallied across from the White House Sunday while police kept both sides apart.
Police set up a wide no-man’s land in Washington’s Lafayette Square to prevent a repeat of last year’s neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia which exploded into violence. A self-confessed Nazi is accused of running over and killing 32 year-old counter-protester Heather Heyer.
A sea of counter-protesters met the group and stood along the edges of Lafayette Square during the roughly hourlong gathering.
But most of the anger came in the form of profanity, chants, and signs aimed at the sparse group who showed up for what organizers called a “white civil rights rally.”
Protesters were waiting for them and shouted, “Go home!” and “You’re not welcome here!” Police escorted the group, which was met by even more counter-protesters.
Some counter-protesters shot fireworks in the direction of police officers around the time that Unite the Right participants were escorted away. Some protesters also threw eggs at police officers.
Many of the white supremacists who turned out hid their faces behind flags and bandanas and refused to speak to reporters.
The organizer of Sunday’s rally, Jason Kessler, said the white rights movement cannot be associated with “hate, violence, and oppression.”
The counter-protesters have not just come to confront the fringe white supremacists groups, they also gathered to say “hell no” to President Donald Trump. Because president’s response to the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville is still being criticized.
But this year, President Donald Trump issued a plea for unity on Twitter Saturday, saying “We must come together as a nation, I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!”
Washington police chief Peter Newsham said firearms will be prohibited at the rallies, even for gun owners with legal licenses.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and city officials in Charlottesville announced a state of emergency was in effect through Sunday in Charlottesville and parts of Northern Virginia, outside Washington.
>Juthy Saha
Anti-Racist protesters outnumber white supremacists at Washington Rally
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