The battle of Charlottesville: At least two seriously hurt in clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters at massive march in Virginia as governor warns public to 'stay away'
- Thousands were expected to attend the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday
- Two have were seriously hurt in one heated clash before 11am, Virginia State police reported
- The rally was being held at Emancipation Park and hundreds were seen stomping through the city
- Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer denounced the 'cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights'
- A local state of emergency was declared around 11am and it was determined an unlawful assembly
- Alt right leader Jason Kessler led a torch lit march through the University of Virginia campus on Friday
- Hundreds of white nationalists joined him in the march which ended at the statue of Thomas Jefferson
- The alt-right activists were heard chanting 'Jews will not replace us' and 'white lives matter'
- They clashed with University of Virginia students who held an anti-racist protest on the grounds
- At least one person was arrested and several on campus were treated for minor injuries
- Director of the Center on Extremism said Saturday's event could 'be a potentially historic showcase of hate'
- First Lady Melania Trump admonished the day's events, tweeting: 'Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence'
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Violence erupted and riot police were deployed to extinguish a planned Rally where thousands of white nationalists were expected to gather for an alt-right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.
At least two people were seriously injured during a destructive clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters at Emancipation Park before the controversial Unite the Right rally, which was called off by the state.
First Lady Melania Trump admonished the day's outcome, tweeting: 'Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence.'
Hundreds were seen stomping through the city, wearing militia uniforms, waving flags and chanting 'Blood and Soil' as they made their way towards the event on Saturday morning.
Counter-protesters flocked to the march in retaliation against the white nationalists neo-Confederates, and alt-right activists, screaming: 'We're here, we're gay, we fight the KKK!'
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer had denounced the 'cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights' and warned for residents to stay away from the rally.
The protest hadn't officially started but social media videos showed the rally was escalating as people were seen throwing objects, breaking out into fights and mace being sprayed into the crowd.
The violence forced the city to declare a local emergency and determined that the event was an unlawful assembly around 11am, using tear gas bombs to clear out the unruly crowd.
Arrests were made after police in riot gear attempted to clear the park and a group of protesters pushed back against them, while the battle between the two protester groups continued to rage on in the streets of the city.
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At least two people were seriously injured during a destructive clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters at Emancipation Park before the controversial Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday. A video appears to show the altercation, as a man is being dragged away while a woman screams: 'Don't allow them to do this!'
First Lady Melania Trump admonished the day's events, tweeting: 'Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence'
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer has denounced the 'cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights' and warned for residents to stay away from the rally
The Unite the Right rally was being held at Emancipation Park and hundreds were seen stomping through the city, wearing militia uniforms, waving flags and chanting 'Blood and Soil' as they made their way towards the event
Several Nazi flags were seen proudly raised during the controversial rally protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Arrests were made (left) after police in riot gear attempted to clear the park and some protesters pushed back against them
Police were in position at Emancipation Park and downtown Charlottesville by 6am as they prepared for the rally.
Between 4,000 and 6,000 people from groups including white nationalists, neo-Confederates and alt-right activists were expected to protest at the park, which had recently been renamed from Lee Park.
Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler planned what he called a 'pro-white' rally to protest Charlottesville's decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad granted a preliminary injunction Friday in a lawsuit filed against Charlottesville by Kessler.
Supporters and counter-protesters screamed, chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday morning. Men dressed in militia uniforms were carrying shields and openly carrying long guns.
The protest hadn't yet begun when two people were seriously injured and protesters reportedly deployed pepper spray, according to state police.
The violence, which erupted ahead of the rally's start time of noon, forced the city to declare a local emergency around 11am and determined the event was an unlawful assembly, using tear gas bombs to clear the unruly crowd
Christopher Mathias, a reporter for the Huffington Post tweeted: 'Just witnessed a violent fight in a parking garage. Nazi dude pulled a gun. Some bad injuries'
The Unite the Right rally was being held at Emancipation Park and hundreds were seen stomping through the city, wearing militia uniforms, waving flags and chanting 'Blood and Soil' as they made their way towards the event
A group of white activists clash with others at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville on Saturday morning
Social media videos show the crowd throwing bottles and objects as police film the interaction from behind fences but don't intervene.
Brawls broke out as people in militia gear tackled others to the ground and began throwing punches.
Christopher Mathias, a reporter for the Huffington Post tweeted: 'Just witnessed a violent fight in a parking garage. Nazi dude pulled a gun. Some bad injuries.'
City officials declared a local emergency shortly after 11am. Colleen Cook, 26, stood on a curb shouting at the rally attendees to go home.
Cook, a teacher who attended the University of Virginia, said she sent her black son out of town for the weekend.
'This isn't how he should have to grow up,' she said.
Cliff Erickson leaned against a fence and took in the scene. He said he thinks removing the statue amounts to erasing history and said the 'counterprotesters are crazier than the alt-right.'
'Both sides are hoping for a confrontation,' he said.
