Images of neo-Nazis marching in the streets and violent clashes between alt-right protesters and counterprotesters in Charlottesville last year are still fresh in many residents' minds. On Aug. 12, 2017, a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville turned deadly when a 20-year-old Ohio man allegedly accelerated his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and leaving 19 others injured, five critically. Now, some of the same right-wing groups involved in those events in Charlottesville are planning another protest to coincide with the anniversary this weekend. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and the city of Charlottesville declared states of emergency ahead of this weekend’s anniversary. The governor said in a press conference Wednesday he will allow agencies to call in the National Guard to assist in security efforts. But larger protests are planned for Washington D.C. Here's what you need to know. What happened last year? Charlottesville, best known for being home to the state university created by Thomas Jefferson, may seem like an unusual choice for a heated battle involving neo-Nazis, but there was a reason that "Unite the Right" organizers chose the town for their rally. Charlottesville had been in a months-long battle over what to do with a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate army during the Civil War. Many cities across the country have been grappling with what to do with their Confederate statues, as some feel that they are reminders of a dark time of racism in U.S. history and should be taken down. Earlier in 2017, the Charlottesville City Council had voted to remove the Lee statue and rename the park where it is located. A group of white nationalists protested the decision in May, prompting criticism from the mayor. But that protest paled in comparison to what unfolded in August. The "Unite the Right" rally was scheduled for Sat. Aug. 12 and participants started to gather in Charlottesville the night before. A group of white nationalists holding lit tiki torches marched through the campus of the University of Virginia, some chanting the Nazi-associated phrase "blood and soil." The formal rally was scheduled to start at noon Saturday but the first skirmishes of the day between protesters and counter-protesters were reported that morning. Tensions soared and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency before noon that day. The violence reached its peak at 1:42 p.m. when James Alex Fields rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. Heyer was killed and 19 others were injured. Two Virginia State Police troopers were killed when their helicopter crashed outside of Charlottesville. The troopers, Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, were lending air support in response to the violence in Charlottesville. Trump's controversial response President Donald Trump was spending time at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, and released a statement condemning the violence but not calling out the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in attendance. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides — on many sides," Trump said in a short statement delivered in New Jersey. "It's been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump. Not Barack Obama. It's been going on for a long, long time." Trump tweeted twice more that afternoon, offering condolences to the families of Heyer and the troopers, but did not make any specific mention of the controversial groups. On Aug. 13, a White House spokesperson who would not be publicly identified released a statement about Trump’s comments Saturday. "The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together," the White House spokesperson said. It wasn't until two days later, on Monday afternoon, that Trump made another televised statement, this time, being more explicit. "Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," he said. "To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend's racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered," he added. But Trump added more fuel to the fire on Tuesday, Aug. 15 during a televised press conference in which he lashed out at criticism of his initial statement. Asked about his immediate response Saturday, Trump quickly went on to blame both sides for the conflict, adding that there were "very fine people" among both the white supremacists and the counter-protesters. "I think there is blame on both sides. You look at both sides. I think there is blame on both sides," Trump said during his remarks on Aug. 15. "You had some very bad people in that group. You also had some very fine people on both sides," he added. What is expected to happen this weekend? Groups from both sides of the conflict have planned public demonstrations on the anniversary of the Charlottesville clashes, but this time they're moving it to a bigger stage. Permits for protests have been granted in different parts of Washington D.C., with the organizers of the original "Unite the Right" rally planning to march from a nearby Metro station to a demonstration in Lafayette Square Park, directly opposite the White House. Multiple counter-demonstrations have also received permits, including groups like Black Lives Matter and an individual who plans to burn a Confederate flag in Lafayette Park. More details about the demonstrations are expected to be released in the coming days.<doc-sep>The white nationalists are winning—their message has permeated the broader GOP. I happened to be with an administration official this time last year, interviewing him for a story unrelated to Charlottesville. But the violent march naturally crept into our discussion, as both of our phones trilled with news of Trump’s press conference. I remember the official sighing deeply, shaking his head as he scanned the reports. Yet I’d learn moments later that this was not in opposition to the president’s comments themselves; rather, it was anxiety about how to contain the fallout. “Great, yet another distraction,” the official said. “The media will never let this one go.” It was as though Trump had mistakenly defined his proposed corporate tax rate—not equivocated on the actions of white nationalists. Republican leaders were careful to denounce the demonstrations in no uncertain terms. But they were also careful to avoid any mention of Trump, and to avoid criticizing him directly. “We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive,” House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted. “This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.” Echoed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy: “Saturday’s violence and tragic loss of life was a direct consequence of the hateful rhetoric & action from white supremacists demonstrating.” “We have to unequivocally say that the KKK and the white supremacists were wrong,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel told ABC’s David Muir at the time. She tried to spin Trump’s words: “The president was saying that people brought violence from both sides.” One year ago, Corey Long was photographed in a standoff in Charlottesville. His life hasn’t been the same since. My conversation with the administration official, and the response from GOP leaders, brought Trump’s immunity from reproach into sharp relief. There’s been a lot of talk about “red lines” in the past two years, which is to say musings about what, if anything, could cause the GOP to turn on Trump. This weekend’s Unite the Right rally offers occasion to consider many things, about where this country is and where it is going. But crucially, it offers a potent reminder of Trump’s seeming infallibility in all corners of his party. Depending on Trump’s reaction to the rally this weekend, should he have one at all, Republican leaders may have a chance to rewrite the script. At the very least, perhaps they will take issue with the group’s namesake, and make clear that white supremacy does not, in fact, fit into their definition of “the right.” Or perhaps they will stay silent, and take comfort in the fact that, in the Trump era, political consequences seem to last only for so long.<doc-sep>
It was supposed to be the start of another show of force by white nationalists: Unite the Right 2, the follow-up to last year’s disastrous and violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, which concluded with a Nazi sympathizer ramming his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring several and killing one. But Dan, who said he was a supporter of “peaceful” ethnic cleansing, was the only white nationalist to be seen at the march’s starting point, the Foggy Bottom metro station in Washington, DC. This was around 5 pm, when the march was supposed to start toward Lafayette Square for a two-hour rally. I asked Dan, who said he had turned 19 on Sunday, where his friends were. “I don’t know.” What are you going to do now? “I don’t know.” This is Dan from Long Island. Dan believes in “peaceful cleansing” of Latinos and blacks from the United States. He turned 19 today. pic.twitter.com/wBplDshIxn — Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp) August 12, 2018 What Dan didn’t know was that his friends had already left. A couple of hours before the march was supposed to start, around 20 to 25 white nationalists, led by rally organizer Jason Kessler, had arrived at Foggy Bottom. Instead of waiting around, and swarmed by media, police, and a lot of counterprotesters, they had forged ahead on the march route hours earlier than scheduled. There, Kessler complained to reporters about the police in Charlottesville and counterprotesters, and then left. So by the time I had asked Dan where his white nationalist friends were, the rally had ended — before 5:30 pm, when it was supposed to begin. It was a total dud. There were plenty of reasons for the pathetic display. But the basic issue is that Charlottesville was a complete disaster — a moment that was supposed to somehow win white nationalists favor, but actively turned much of the nation against them when they engaged in violence and, in one case, literal murder. Jane Coaston reported for Vox: On top of these problems, several Charlottesville attendees had their identities revealed — which resulted not just in public shaming but in some attendees getting fired from their jobs. That’s why neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin warned people to not go to this year’s rally, writing, “Getting doxed as a neo-Nazi street fighter will ruin your life, forever.” Coupled with a total lack of serious organization (which led some marchers to go ahead of others hours ahead of time), this was all too much for the demonstrations — and they ended before they could really begin. In fact, counterprotesters outnumbered white nationalists by the hundreds at the DC rally — to the point that some counterprotesters left early because it was kind of boring. As I arrived at the counterprotests, one of the people leaving said that there “aren’t enough Nazis to troll.” So she took her sign — a mock-up of a Confederate flag with “losers” written along the flag’s stripes — home. Of course, this does not mean that racism has been defeated and all is well in America. It has, after all, only been a year since Charlottesville. That’s a year since Donald Trump, as president, said that there were “some very fine people on both sides” at the Charlottesville rally, in which one side contained literal neo-Nazis. And that followed a campaign for the presidency in which Trump made all sorts of racist remarks, from characterizing Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists to suggesting that all Muslims should be banned from America. And there’s plenty of research showing that Americans still harbor racism and racial resentment, from studies finding that people are more likely to see black children as less innocent to other research finding that white people view Muslims, Arabs, and Mexican immigrants as less human than Americans and Europeans. But, at least for today, the white nationalists couldn’t field enough people for an actual rally.