Fights and arguments were widespread during a white nationalist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Demonstrators were protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. USA TODAY</s>(CNN) — One person was killed and 19 were hurt when a speeding car slammed into a throng of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, where a “Unite the Right” rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups had been scheduled take place, the city tweeted on its verified account.

The driver was later taken into custody, the city said in a news release. It did not name the person.

“I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here. I urge all people of good will — go home,” Mayor Mike Signer wrote on Twitter.

The city added that there were 15 other injuries associated with the scheduled rally.

Virginia’s governor had earlier declared an emergency, and police worked to disperse hundreds of protesters in the college town after clashes broke out ahead of the rally’s scheduled noon ET start.

Fistfights and screaming matches erupted Saturday, barely 12 hours after a scuffle Friday night at the nearby University of Virginia between torch-bearing demonstrators and counter protesters.

Saturday’s rally was the latest event drawing white nationalists and right-wing activists from across the country to this Democratic-voting town — a development precipitated by the city’s decision to remove symbols of its Confederate past.

Here are the latest developments:
• Seven people were being treated at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, spokeswoman Jen Downs said. Downs didn’t have word on their conditions.

Video of the incident shows a gray Dodge Challenger driving quickly down a narrow side street lined with walking protesters. The sports car rams into the back of a silver convertible, which hits the van in front of it. Soon the Dodge driver slams the car in reverse, going back up the street at a high rate of speed, dragging its front bumper. Several people chase the car. As the sports car retreats, a red and white athletic shoe falls off the bumper.

Another video shows at least one person being thrown over the rear of the car onto the roof of the silver convertible, then sliding down onto the hood.
• Witness Chris Mahony said he and a friend, who shot one of the videos, were walking down the street when he saw the gray car on the other side of the street.

“It just sat there, looking down the road,” he said. “I thought that’s a bit strange. There didn’t seem to be any other cars stopping him from going. And then a couple moments we heard a car going incredibly fast down the road and then it plowed into the crowd.”
• President Donald Trump told reporters: “We are closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It has been going on for a long time in our country — not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. It has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America.”
• Police began to break up crowds shortly before noon, after city officials declared the gathering an “unlawful assembly.” Police officers spoke on bullhorns, directing people to leave.
• The declaration was made after fistfights and screaming matches erupted in several locations late Saturday morning.
• Some protesters fired pepper spray at other demonstrators, state police said.
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency “to aid state response to violence,” according to a post on his Twitter account.
• An unspecified number of protesters have been arrested in Charlottesville, state police said.

Police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder behind shields early Saturday afternoon, at times advancing toward crowds, CNN video shows. Members of the Virginia National Guard also were there.

By 1 p.m. ET, police had cleared the park where the rally was to be held. It wasn’t immediately clear how many demonstrators remained in other parts of the city.

“It is now clear that public safety cannot be safeguarded without additional powers, and that the mostly out-of-state protesters have come to Virginia to endanger our citizens and property,” McAuliffe said. “I am disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence these protesters have brought to our state over the past 24 hours.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the fights, though tensions and rhetoric were running hot. At one point, a few dozen white men wearing helmets and holding makeshift shields chanted, “Blood and soil!” Later, another group chanted slogans such as, “Nazi scum off our streets!”

People punched and kicked each other during various scuffles, which often were broken up from within crowds, without police intervention, CNN video shows.

Earlier, a group of clergy and other counter-demonstrators, including activist and Harvard professor Cornel West, held hands, prayed and sang, “This Little Light of Mine.”

Police presence was heavy, with more than 1,000 officers expected to be deployed, city officials said. Police anticipated the rally would attract as many as 2,000 to 6,000 people, and the Southern Poverty Law Center said it could be the “largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States.”

Charlottesville, once home to Thomas Jefferson, is known as a progressive city of about 47,000 people. During last year’s presidential election, 80% of its voters chose Hillary Clinton.

But far-right activists and Ku Klux Klan members have come here in recent months, outraged by the city’s intention to remove traces of its links to the Confederacy — including plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The effort developed amid a push by communities across the South to remove Confederate iconography from public property since the 2015 rampage killings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, by a self-described white supremacist.

Ahead of Saturday’s planned rally, tensions roiled Friday night as white nationalists — some holding what appeared to be backyard tiki-style torches — marched onto the University of Virginia’s campus.

Chanting, “Blood and soil” and “You will not replace us,” the group rallied around a statue of Thomas Jefferson before they clashed with counter protesters, CNN affiliate WWBT reported. The group left the university’s grounds when police arrived and declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

“In my 47 years of association with @UVA, this was the most nauseating thing I’ve ever seen. We need an exorcism on the Lawn,” Larry Sabato, director of the university’s Center for Politics, tweeted.

Signer, the Charlottesville mayor, released a statement referring to Friday’s rally as a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights.”

“Everyone has a right under the First Amendment to express their opinion peaceably, so here’s mine: not only as the Mayor of Charlottesville, but as a UVA faculty member and alumnus, I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus,” he added.

Friday’s march took place shortly after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction allowing right-wing activists to hold Saturday’s rally.

City officials had tried to “modify” the rally’s permit to move the demonstration from the park with the Lee statue more than a mile away to McIntire Park, citing safety concerns.

‘We’re going to start standing up for our history’

In February, the city council voted to remove the Lee statue, but that is on hold pending litigation. The council also voted to rename two city parks that had been named for Confederate generals; one of those, Emancipation Park, was due to be the site of Saturday’s rally.

Jason Kessler, who organized Saturday’s “Unite the Right” rally, said he doesn’t consider himself to be a white nationalist. But, he said, “we’re going to start standing up for our history.”

“The statue itself is symbolic of a lot of larger issues. The primary three issues are preserving history against this censorship and revisionism — this political correctness,” he told CNN Friday.

“The second issue is being allowed to advocate for your interests as a white person, just like other groups are allowed to advocate for their interests politically. And finally, this is about free speech. We are simply trying to express ourselves and do a demonstration, and the local government has tried to shut us down.”</s>CHARLOTTESVILLE, Aug 13 — US authorities today are investigating the outbreak of violence in Virginia following a white nationalist rally that killed one person and injured more than 30, presenting US President Donald Trump with a major domestic challenge.

The violence in the Southern college town of Charlottesville yesterday was widely condemned, with many politicians and activists on both the left and right also criticising Trump, a Republican, for waiting too long to address it and when he did so, failing to explicitly condemn the white-supremacist marchers who ignited the melee.

Virginia police have not yet provided a motive for a man plowing a car into a crowd of people objecting to the white nationalists, but US attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have opened a civil rights investigation into the crash, an FBI field office said.

Four people have been arrested, including James Fields, a 20-year-old white man from Ohio who is being held in jail on suspicion of crashing the car. The vehicle killed a 32-year-old woman and injured 19 people, five of them critically.

Federal authorities were also looking into a helicopter crash on Saturday that killed two Virginia state policemen aiding efforts to quell the clashes.

Demonstrators march on an Interstate 580 off-ramp to block traffic during a rally in response to the Charlottesville, Virginia car attack on counter-protesters after the

This morning, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and White House adviser, appealed on Twitter for Americans to “be one country UNITED. #Charlottesville.” She also posted: “There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis.”

US Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, who chairs the Republican Party’s Senate election effort, called on the president to condemn “white supremacists” and to use the term.

“Calling out people for their acts of evil - let’s do it today - white nationalist, white supremacist,” Gardner said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday. “We will not stand for their hate.”

An organiser of yesterday’s “Unite the Right” rally, which was staged to protest the planned removal of Confederate war hero Robert E. Lee’s statue from a park, said supporters of the event would not back down.

“Absolutely we are going to have further demonstrations in Charlottesville because our constitutional rights are being denied,” said Jason Kessler, whom civil rights groups identified as a white nationalist blogger. He did not specify when.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, declared an emergency and halted Saturday’s planned rally, but that did not stop the violence.

About 15 people were injured after rival groups fought pitched battles using fists, rocks and pepper spray.

“There is no place for you here,” McAuliffe said, addressing white supremacists. “There is no place for you in America.”

The rally stemmed from a long debate in the US South over the Confederate battle flag and other symbols of the rebel side in the Civil War, which was fought over slavery.

Trump said on Saturday that there was more than one side to the Charlottesville incidents. “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” he told reporters at his New Jersey golf course.

He did not specifically mention or fault the role of white nationalists.

On Sunday, White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert defended Trump’s response. “I think declaring racial bigotry unacceptable is a very smart and calming thing for the president to do,” Bossert said on CNN. “It’s not meant not to condemn hate.”

The Charlottesville violence is the latest clash between far-rightists, some of whom have claimed allegiance to Trump, and the president’s opponents. At his January inauguration, black-clad anti-Trump protesters in Washington smashed windows, torched cars and clashed with police, leading to more than 200 arrests.

About two dozen people were arrested in Charlottesville in July when the Ku Klux Klan rallied against the plan to remove the Lee statue. Torch-wielding white nationalists also demonstrated in May against the removal. — Reuters</s>Charlottesville, Virginia (CNN) One person was killed and 19 were hurt when a speeding car slammed into a throng of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, where a "Unite the Right" rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups had been scheduled to take place, the city tweeted on its verified account.

A 32-year-old woman was killed while walking across the street, Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas said. Police were still in the process of notifying her family.

Two Virginia State Patrol troopers were killed in a helicopter crash while "assisting public safety resources with the ongoing situation in Charlottesville," the agency said in a news release. The pilot, Lt. H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates, who would have turned 41 on Sunday, died in the crash.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe had a pointed message for the right-wing groups that flocked to Charlottesville on Saturday: "Go home. ... You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you."

In addition to the one death and 19 injuries in the car-ramming incident, the city said there were at least 15 other injuries associated with the scheduled rally.

Federal authorities said a civil rights investigation into the deadly crash was opened hours after it happened.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said U.S. Attorney Rick Mountcastle is leading the investigation and has the full support of the Deparment of Justice.

"The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice. When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated," Sessions said in a statement. "Justice will prevail."

"The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence, and as this is an ongoing investigation we are not able to comment further at this time," said a statement from the Richmond, Virginia FBI field office.

"I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here. I urge all people of good will -- go home," Mayor Mike Signer wrote on Twitter.

Virginia's governor had earlier declared an emergency, and police worked to disperse hundreds of protesters in the college town after clashes broke out ahead of the rally's scheduled noon ET start.

Fistfights and screaming matches erupted Saturday, barely 12 hours after a scuffle Friday night at the nearby University of Virginia between torch-bearing demonstrators and counterprotesters.

Saturday's rally was the latest event drawing white nationalists and right-wing activists from across the country to this Democratic-voting town -- a development precipitated by the city's decision to remove symbols of its Confederate past.

Demonstrators clash late Saturday morning in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Here are the latest developments:

• The suspect being held in a Virginia jail in connection with a deadly crash near a scheduled rally of white nationalists has been identified as James Alex Fields Jr. , 20, of Maumee, Ohio, according to Superintendent Martin Kumer with the Albermarle-Charlottesville County Regional Jail. Fields is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and failure to stop in an accident that resulted in death.

• Fields' mother, Samantha Bloom, told the Toledo Blade , a CNN affiliate, that he told her last week he was going to an "alt-right" rally, but she didn't get involved in his political views. "I told him to be careful ... if they are going to rally, to make sure he is doing it peacefully," she told the newspaper. CNN's attempt to reach Bloom were unsuccessful.

• Angela Taylor, a spokeswoman for the University of Virginia Medical Center, said there were five patients from the crash in critical condition, four in serious condition, six in fair condition and four in good condition.

CPD & VSP respond to 3-vehicle crash at Water & 4th streets. Several pedestrians struck. Multiple injuries. 1/2 #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/DdHYdL0Uvu — VA State Police (@VSPPIO) August 12, 2017

• Video of the incident shows a gray Dodge Challenger driving quickly down a narrow side street lined with walking protesters. The sports car rams into the back of a silver convertible, which hits the van in front of it. Soon the Dodge driver slams the car in reverse, going back up the street at a high rate of speed, dragging its front bumper. Several people chase the car. As the sports car retreats, a red and white athletic shoe falls off the bumper.

Another video shows at least one person being thrown over the rear of the car onto the roof of the silver convertible then sliding down onto the hood.

• Witness Chris Mahony said he and a friend, who shot one of the videos, were walking down the street when he saw the gray car on the other side of the street.

"It just sat there, looking down the road," he said. "I thought that's a bit strange. There didn't seem to be any other cars stopping him from going. And then a couple moments we heard a car going incredibly fast down the road and then it plowed into the crowd."

• Three other people were arrested Saturday, Virginia State Police said. Two of the men were from out of state. One of the out-of-state men faces a charge of carrying a concealed handgun and the other is charged disorderly conduct. A Virginia man was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery.

• President Donald Trump told reporters: "We are closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It has been going on for a long time in our country -- not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. It has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America."

• Former President Barack Obama, quoting Nelson Mandela, wrote on Twitter: "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."

• Sen. Ted Cruz called on the US Justice Department "to immediately investigate and prosecute today's grotesque act of domestic terrorism." In a posting on Facebook , Cruz said it was "tragic and heartbreaking to see hatred and racism once again mar our great nation with bloodshed." Cruz called the white supremacists "repulsive and evil."

Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of people demonstrating against a white nationalist rally after police cleared Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, August 12. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia The vehicle moments before it struck the crowd. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A woman receives first aid after a speeding car slammed into this silver convertible as it navigated through a crowd of counterprotesters. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A man embraces an injured woman after a car rammed into the crowd. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Right-wing rally members clash with counterprotesters in Emancipation Park, where white nationalist groups gathered for a rally. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A counterprotester strikes a white nationalist with a baton during clashes at Emancipation Park, where white nationalists are protesting the removal of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee monument. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A counterprotester throws a newspaper box at a right-wing rally member at the entrance to Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A counterprotester uses a lighted spray can against a white nationalist at the entrance to Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Counterprotesters try to burn a Confederate battle flag taken from white nationalist protesters. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counterprotesters. Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A white nationalist is seen with a cut below his eye suffered during clashes with counterprotesters at Emancipation Park . Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the alt-right movement exchange volleys of pepper spray with counterprotesters as they enter Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia A woman is treated for exposure to pepper spray during clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters at Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia White nationalists use shields as they guard the entrance to Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Counterprotesters line the route taken by white nationalists and neo-Nazis during the "Unite the Right" rally. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police, the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Emancipation Park, formerly called Lee Park and home to a controversial statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia White nationalist Richard Spencer and his supporters clash with Virginia State Police in Emancipation Park. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Violence erupts at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Riot police form a line of defense in front of the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park, recently renamed from Lee Park. Hide Caption 17 of 17

• Police began to break up crowds shortly before noon, after city officials declared the gathering an "unlawful assembly."

• Some protesters fired pepper spray at other demonstrators, state police said.

• Gov. McAuliffe declared a state of emergency "to aid state response to violence," according to a post on his Twitter account

ALERT: Unlawful assembly declared for rally at Emancipation Park #cvilleaug12 pic.twitter.com/2OcchnDNFS — Charlottesville City (@CvilleCityHall) August 12, 2017

Police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder behind shields early Saturday afternoon, at times advancing toward crowds, CNN video shows.

By 1 p.m. ET, police had cleared the park where the rally was to be held.

It wasn't immediately clear what led to the fights, though tensions and rhetoric were running hot. At one point, a few dozen white men wearing helmets and holding makeshift shields chanted, "Blood and soil!" Later, another group chanted slogans such as, "Nazi scum off our streets!"

Demonstrators gather Saturday ahead of a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

People punched and kicked each other during various scuffles, which often were broken up from within crowds, without police intervention, CNN video shows.

Police presence was heavy, with more than 1,000 officers expected to be deployed, city officials said. Police anticipated the rally would attract as many as 2,000 to 6,000 people, and the Southern Poverty Law Center said it could be the "largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States."

Counterprotesters gather Saturday morning in Charlottesville, Virginia, ahead of a "Unite the Right" rally.

White nationalists wield torches

White nationalists carrying torches surround protesters Friday night at the foot of a statue of Thomas Jefferson on the University of Virginia's campus.

Charlottesville, once home to Thomas Jefferson, is known as a progressive city of about 47,000 people. During last year's presidential election, 80% of its voters chose Hillary Clinton.

But far-right activists and Ku Klux Klan members have come here in recent months, outraged by the city's intention to remove traces of its links to the Confederacy -- including plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The effort developed amid a push by communities across the South to remove Confederate iconography from public property since the 2015 rampage killings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston , South Carolina, by a self-described white supremacist.

Ahead of Saturday's planned rally, tensions roiled Friday night as white nationalists -- some holding what appeared to be backyard tiki-style torches -- marched onto the University of Virginia's campus.

White nationalists and others march Friday night through the University of Virginia campus.

Chanting, "Blood and soil" and "You will not replace us," the group rallied around a statue of Thomas Jefferson before they clashed with counterprotesters, CNN affiliate WWBT reported . The group left the university's grounds when police arrived and declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

#Charlottesville 9:53pm 🔘 The torches are lit. Hundreds w/ an alt-right march thru UVA pic.twitter.com/H7D2KDbSq6 — Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) August 12, 2017

City and UVA officials condemned Friday's march.

"In my 47 years of association with @UVA, this was the most nauseating thing I've ever seen. We need an exorcism on the Lawn," Larry Sabato, director of the university's Center for Politics, tweeted.

In my 47 years of association with @UVA, this was the most nauseating thing I've ever seen. We need an exorcism on the Lawn. — Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 12, 2017

Signer, the Charlottesville mayor, released a statement referring to Friday's rally as a "cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights."

"Everyone has a right under the First Amendment to express their opinion peaceably, so here's mine: not only as the Mayor of Charlottesville, but as a UVA faculty member and alumnus, I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus," he added.

Now gathering around statue of Thomas Jefferson. Chanting 'white lives matter!' pic.twitter.com/16cruXn5d8 — Joe Heim (@JoeHeim) August 12, 2017

Friday's march took place shortly after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction allowing right-wing activists to hold Saturday's rally.

City officials had tried to "modify" the rally's permit to move the demonstration from the park with the Lee statue more than a mile away to McIntire Park, citing safety concerns.

'We're going to start standing up for our history'

In February, the city council voted to remove the Lee statue, but that is on hold pending litigation. The council also voted to rename two city parks that had been named for Confederate generals; one of those, Emancipation Park, was due to be the site of Saturday's rally.

Jason Kessler, who organized Saturday's "Unite the Right" rally, said he doesn't consider himself to be a white nationalist. But, he said, "we're going to start standing up for our history."

"The statue itself is symbolic of a lot of larger issues. The primary three issues are preserving history against this censorship and revisionism -- this political correctness," he told CNN Friday.

"The second issue is being allowed to advocate for your interests as a white person, just like other groups are allowed to advocate for their interests politically. And finally, this is about free speech. We are simply trying to express ourselves and do a demonstration, and the local government has tried to shut us down."</s>Fights and arguments were widespread during a white nationalist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Demonstrators were protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. USA TODAY</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage captured the moment a car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville

One person has died and 19 others were injured when a car rammed a crowd of people opposing a far-right rally in the US state of Virginia, police say.

Earlier, street brawls erupted between white nationalists planning to attend the march and counter-protesters.

The mayor of Charlottesville, where the now-cancelled rally was taking place, said he was "heartbroken" at the death.

President Donald Trump has condemned the violence, and local officials have declared a state of emergency.

The car involved in the ramming incident was later located a few streets away and the driver is in custody, the city's police chief said.

In addition to those injured there, the Charlottesville Police Department said another 15 people were injured in other violence related to the far-right march.

Late in the afternoon, a Virginia State Police helicopter, crashed in woodland south-west of the city, killing two people; however, there has been no indication that this was related to the violence.

The "Unite the Right" march was called to protest against plans to remove a statue of a general who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.

'Car backed up and hit again'

Video posted on social media showed a car ploughing at speed into several slow-moving vehicles, which were surrounded by a densely packed crowd.

A witness said one girl got "tore up" after the car "backed up and hit again".

Officials said the driver had been taken into custody.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A number of people received first-aid after a vehicle drove into a crowd

Image copyright AFP Image caption Witnesses said the car backed up and hit the crowd more than once

Police earlier fired tear gas against demonstrators and said that arrests had been made after a declaration of unlawful assembly at Emancipation Park.

The far-right protesters, some waving Confederate flags, carrying shields and wearing helmets, are angry about the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E Lee from Charlottesville.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The US president ignored questions over whether his response went far enough

Gen Lee commanded the pro-slavery Confederate forces in the US Civil War of 1861-65.

The New York Times reports that some of them were chanting "You will not replace us," and "Jew will not replace us."

Anti-racism organisations such as Black Lives Matter also held marches.

President Donald Trump condemned "in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides".

"The hate and the division must stop right now," he told reporters, speaking in New Jersey, where he is on a working holiday. "We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation."

Democrats and Republicans alike have taken issue with his choice of words, noting that he failed to refer to the role of white nationalists.

Republican Senator Cory Gardner tweeted: "Mr. President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism."

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Republican, felt similarly.

Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler had called for a "pro-white" rally in Charlottesville, and white nationalists promoted the gathering widely.

Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, said white power groups were present in Charlottesville - including neo-Nazis and factions of the Ku Klux Klan.

One picture tweeted by author J K Rowling showed a man on the street carrying a swastika flag.

The governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, said his only message for the white supremacists who had rallied in the city was - "go home." Speaking to reporters in Charlottesville, he said there was no place for white supremacist groups there, or in America.

At the scene: Bottles thrown

By Joel Gunter, BBC News, Charlottesville

There were very violent scenes at Emancipation Park and it took some time for the police to intervene.

Both sides were throwing bottles and rocks and using pepper spray.

The far-right protesters were a mix of different groups with shields and batons and the declaration of a state of emergency seemed to have had a significant impact on them, as they started to dissipate.

Shiquan Rah, a 21-year-old demonstrator who had joined the counter-protest, said about the far-right groups: "These people don't have a message, their message is hate and violence. This is a spiritual war we're in.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Joel Gunter describes the clashes, where groups were armed with shields and batons

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe urged calm tweeting: "The acts and rhetoric in #Charlottesville over past 24 hours are unacceptable [and] must stop. A right to speech is not a right to violence."

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer had earlier called the rally a "parade of hatred, bigotry, racism and intolerance".

US Civil War and alt-right links

1861-65 US Civil War between the northern and southern states was principally caused by slavery

Southern Confederate forces, which backed slavery, eventually surrendered to Union army and slavery was abolished

A number of cities have grappled with Confederate symbols that still exist today, with flags and monuments becoming key venues for alt-right groups in recent months

Supporters say Confederate symbols represent freedom and liberty, but opponents say their roots are in slavery

The alt-right is a disparate group of provocateurs who hate political correctness and love Donald Trump, but critics say they are bigoted white nationalists

The rise of the alt-right

The hoax about desecration of US Civil War graves

On Friday, the white nationalists held lit torches - which some observers described as a reference to the Ku Klux Klan - and chanted "White lives matter" as they marched through the University of Virginia in the city.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Members of a white nationalist group were armed and wearing militia uniforms

Charlottesville is considered a liberal college town - and 86% of the county voted for Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential elections.

However, the town has become a focal point for white nationalists after the city council voted to remove the statue of Gen Lee.

Some observers also argue that Mr Trump's election to the White House re-energised the far right across the US.</s>White House: Trump’s remarks on violence also referred to white supremacists

Charlottesville, Virginia, Aug 13 (efe-epa).- President Donald Trump’s condemnation of the hatred and bigotry on display this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, where acts of violence left one dead and more than 20 others injured, also included the white supremacists who organized the so-called “Unite the Right” rally, the White House said Sunday.



“The president said very strongly in his statement (on Saturday) that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred,” it said in a statement.

 “Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups,” the White House added.



Trump has come under fire from Democrats and even members of his own Republican party for blaming “many sides” for Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville and not explicitly pointing the finger at white supremacist groups.



Those organizations had organized a rally Saturday in that university city of 50,000 inhabitants to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that had been considered a symbol of slavery and racism.



The planned midday Saturday rally was canceled but clashes broke out with counter-protesters, one of whom – a 32-year-old woman – was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people.



Two Virginia state troopers who were monitoring the situation in the city also died when their helicopter crashed.</s>A 32-year-old woman was killed and dozens of others injured amid violent clashes between white supremacists and anti-fascists ahead of a rally protesting against the removal of a statue to a Confederate general in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A police helicopter also crashed, killing two people, with officials saying this was connected to the events on the ground, although it was unclear in what way.

A state of emergency was announced by the local and state governments with police declaring the "Unite the Right" rally an unlawful assembly and ordering the crowds to disperse. The state police were deployed, with riot police and the National Guard waiting in the wings.

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Some of the far-right group members were seen carrying assault rifles and wearing paramilitary clothing, while others had large shields, helmets and gas masks in apparent anticipation of violence ahead of the demonstration against plans to take down the statue to General Robert E Lee from a local park.

The 32-year-old woman was killed when a car crashed at speed into anti-fascist protesters, leaving a crowd of people lying injured on the ground. Police said they had opened a homicide investigation.

Officials said the pilot of the police helicopter that crashed had been killed, along with a passenger. They said the crash was connected to the violence but it was unclear whether this was simply because the officers had been involved in the police operation or because of some other reason.

Police were investigating the cause of the crash, which happened while the aircraft was hovering low over some trees near a golf course.

Hospital officials said a total of at least 41 people had been hurt in the violence, including 26 as a result of the car crash and 15 others from the fighting in the streets. Some were said to have life-threatening injuries.

Graphic video showed a grey Dodge Challenger speeding up a side street into a group of people and crashing into another car.

Shape Created with Sketch. Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Violence on the streets of Charlottesville 1/9 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 2/9 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 3/9 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 4/9 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 5/9 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 6/9 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 7/9 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 8/9 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 9/9 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. 1/9 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 2/9 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 3/9 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 4/9 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 5/9 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 6/9 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 7/9 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 8/9 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 9/9 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.

Charlottesville police confirmed that a suspect, named as James Alex Fields Jr, 20, of Ohio, had been arrested. Officials said he was being held on charges including second-degree murder.

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Earlier the two groups of protesters were involved in violent clashes with pepper spray — used, reportedly, by both sides — filling the air, according to local media reports. Bottles were also thrown and a number of fist fights broke out.

The city council voted to allow the police chief to declare a curfew.

Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, who confirmed one person had been killed, said he was disappointed the white nationalists had descended on his town and blamed Donald Trump for inflaming racial prejudices with his campaign last year.

"I'm not going to make any bones about it. I place the blame for a lot of what you're seeing in America today right at the doorstep of the White House and the people around the president," he said.

Mr Trump put out a tweet condemning "violence" and "hate" - although he did not specify that he was talking about the white supremacists, attracting criticism on Twitter. He later blamed hatred "on many sides" for the violence, prompting a furious backlash from some leading Republicans.

Earlier in the day apparent militia members were filmed marching through the streets armed with assault rifles and wearing tactical gear.

Other demonstrators were heard to chant the Nazi-linked phrase "blood and soil" as they passed through the streets.

And on Friday night neo-Nazi protesters brandishing flaming torches descended on the University of Virginia, brawling with counter-protesters and throwing Nazi salutes.

The state's governor, Terry McAuliffe, said on Friday: "Many of the individuals coming to Charlottesville ... are doing so in order to express viewpoints many people, including me, find abhorrent."

He urged people to stay away and "deny those ideas more attention than they deserve".

The clash was the latest in a series of confrontations after Charlottesville, situated about 100 miles from Washington DC, voted to remove the statue of General Lee.

Celebrating the Confederate cause is a highly inflammatory issue in the US because the southern states supported slavery.

In May, a torch-wielding group that included prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer gathered around the statue for a night-time protest, and in July, about 50 members of a North Carolina-based KKK group travelled there for a rally, where they were met by hundreds of counter-protesters.

Charlottesville is normally a quiet university city, and many of those protesting are believed to be from out of town.

“People are angry, they’re scared, they’re hurt, they’re confused,” said the Reverend Seth Wispelwey of the local United Church of Christ.

“White supremacists rallying in our town is an act of violence.”

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report; additional reporting by Ian Johnston</s>One person was killed and 19 were injured in Charlottesville, Virginia, after a car plowed through a group of counter-protesters who were demonstrating against an alt-right and white nationalists rally.

A spokesperson for University of Virginia Hospital told NBC News that 20 patients were admitted to the hospital — 19 injuries and one fatality. Her words confirmed a tweet sent by Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer that said someone had been killed.

The driver of one vehicle was taken into custody, according to Charlottesville Police.

Described as a group of "anti-racist protesters" by a witness who took video of the crash, the group of marchers were packed close together at the end of a street near the intersection of Fourth Street and Water Street in downtown Charlottesville.

Brennan Gilmore, a 37-year-old who works for a start up, shot the footage and said he heard tires squealing before he saw a gray Dodge Charger build up speed and ram the crowd. It hit a number of people before plowing into the bumper of another car.

"It was very clearly intentional," Gilmore told NBC News. "From the far end of the street it accelerated, slowed down right before the crowd and then slammed on the gas through the crowd sending bodies flying. And then it reversed back into the street dragging bodies and clothes."

People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. Ryan M. Kelly / The Daily Progress via AP

The car then backed up and fled the scene.

Different groups of protesters clashed with hundreds of white nationalists, Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis throughout the day ahead of the noon rally, but they began to disperse after Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and police told attendees to depart.

Police reported that eight were injured in those scuffles and one person was arrested.

President Donald Trump called the series of events terrible, but was criticized for not providing a full-throated condemnation of the white nationalist elements of the protests, which included former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke and white supremacist leader Richard Spencer.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred bigotry and violence on many sides," the president said during a Saturday press conference. "On many sides."

When asked to clarify what the president meant by "many sides," a White House official said Trump "was condemning hatred, bigotry and violence from all sources and all sides. There was violence between protesters and counter protesters today."

Trump did not respond when reporters asked whether the Charlottesville car crash was terrorism or if he denounced white nationalism.

The most recent incident came after torch-wielding white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus on Friday night. Friday and Saturday's alt-right rallies were held to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.</s>Man who Drove into Crowd in Custody

Witnesses Say He Drove into Group Protesting Rally

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) A state official said the driver of a car that plowed into a group of marchers in Charlottesville is in police custody.

Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran said the driver, a man, has been arrested.

Moran did not immediately provide a name of the driver.

Witnesses say a car plowed into a crowd of people who were protesting a rally, which was held by white nationalists who oppose the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee by the city of Charlottesville. Officials say one person was killed and at least 26 were treated at local hospitals.
Fights break out between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture. One person is killed and several people are injured after a man drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.