Unrest in Virginia
Clashes over a show of white nationalism in charlottesville turn deadly
Violence erupted in the college town of Charlottesville on Aug. 12 after hundreds of white nationalists and their supporters who gathered for a rally over plans to remove a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters, leading Virginia’s governor to declare a state of emergency.
Clashes broke out between the white nationalists and counter-protesters; the “Unite the Right” rally at a park once named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was deemed unlawful. At one point in the afternoon, a vehicle drove into a crowd of counter-protesters marching through the downtown area before speeding away, resulting in one death and leaving more than a dozen others injured. State police later reported the crash of a helicopter that was monitoring the events in Charlottesville, killing two troopers.
President Trump addressed the violence in televised remarks from New Jersey, condemning an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” and calling for the “swift restoration of law and order.” Among his critics was Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. “What happened in Charlottesville is domestic terrorism,” Wyden tweeted. “The President’s words only serve to offer cover for heinous acts.”
The night before Saturday’s violence, hundreds of white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus while carrying burning torches. — Andrew Katz
Warning: Some of the following images are graphic and might be disturbing to some viewers.
Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is Time‘s Senior Multimedia Editor. Follow him on Twitter @katz.
Correction: The original version of this article misstated the number of deaths that resulted from the car incident. One person died, not at least three people.