“We’re out here to stand against that, against the Trump administration, against white supremacy,” said J. The day’s events, in other words, weren’t just about the Unite the Right marchers and their white civil rights. Both groups say they were proven right last year, when Trump told a group of reporters that there were “ some very fine people on both sides” of the violence in Charlottesville. As examples, counterprotesters pointed to the administration’s implementation of a ban on visitors from several Muslim countries, its “zero tolerance” immigration policy that resulted in family separations, and its push to limit citizenship for legal immigrants. It was on this idea that many on Lafayette Square were able to agree: Donald Trump is helping further the cause of white supremacists. “You don’t actually kick people out … You steer the policy in a way that people think, ‘Maybe it’s time for me to go on back.’” What does he want to do about it? “The way you do it is like Trump’s doin’ it,” he explained, matter-of-factly. David, who declined to give his last name, said he believes there are too many nonwhite people living in the United States. “I’ve been gettin’ this my whole life,” said David, a 66-year-old who describes himself as a “pro-white” activist and drove from Texas to attend the rally. Across the grass, the hordes of counterprotesters pushed against the fence holding them back, screaming, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” Thunder boomed, and rain started to fall. The press outnumbered the white nationalists three to one, and the rallygoers were dispersed across the lawn, talking to reporters and posing for pictures with their MAGA hats, flags, and bandanas. Al Stankard, a dark-haired man in khaki pants and a gray fedora, was standing on a raised platform and speaking about “antiwhite scapegoating,” but hardly anyone was listening. “I didn’t realize there would be so many counterprotesters, so I’m really kind of thrilled.”Īt Lafayette Square, the Unite the Right rally was separated from the counterprotesters by a large expanse of grass, dozens of police officers, and a fence. “I thought there would be more of the protesters,” Roberts said. “I had more people at my niece’s baby shower than this.”Ĭhristine Roberts, a 55-year-old white woman who came three and a half hours from New Jersey to protest the rally, was surprised by the turnout. “They’re terrible at organizing,” Todd said, laughing. She was walking quickly down 23rd Street, shouting at the small group of white supremacists. “This is my community, and I think it’s important, when Nazis come to town, you have to show them they’re not welcome,” said Bridget Todd, a 33-year-old African American woman from D.C., and one of the hosts of the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast. Counterprotesters, fazed only slightly by the small numbers of their opposition, chased after them, chanting and screaming, all the way to Lafayette Square across from the White House. Everyone assumed their roles: The white supremacists held up their flags and walked, surrounded by police, down 23rd Street. When the tiny crew of rallygoers reached the top of the escalator, the hot bubble of suspense encompassing the nation’s capital finally popped. Kessler had set up Sunday’s event to keep the momentum going for the movement-but after last year’s tragedy, and the ensuing bad publicity, most alt-right groups chose to stay away. Both the 2017 Unite the Right rally and this year’s were organized by Jason Kessler, a 34-year-old who identifies not as a white nationalist but as a “ white civil rights” leader. It was a dismal showing for a group that, only a few days before, had been expected to turn out in the hundreds. In the end, though, only about two dozen Unite the Right marchers ascended the escalator from the metro platform-all men, except for one bandana-clad woman. Washington, D.C., Is the Next Front for the Alt-Right “Can we tase them when they get to the top?” one shirtless and sunburned man asked a police officer. Counterprotesters gathered at the top of the Foggy Bottom metro station at 2 p.m., waiting for the white-nationalist rallygoers to arrive from Vienna, Virginia. There was talk of a confrontation with Antifa, the militant leftist group that has become a regular presence at rallies like these. Several downtown streets were cordoned off early Sunday morning, and police-hundreds of them-were everywhere, on horseback, on bikes, on motorcycles, in vans. The city had been preparing for the rally’s sequel for weeks, and the anticipation was palpable. This year’s event ended with a tiny turnout, two and a half hours ahead of schedule. WASHINGTON, D.C.-Last year’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, ended in the brutal murder of a 32-year-old counterprotester, Heather Heyer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |