The city of Charlottesville, VA, finds itself succumbing to the violence of protestors again, one year past the tragic events of last year's Unite the Right rally; but this time, there are no white supremacists in the streets to blame — it's only Antifa and associated groups.
This week has been devoted to coverage in the media of the upcoming Unite the Right rally in Washington, DC, stoking the worrisome flames of conflict. NPR has been summarily condemned for interviewing Jason Kessler, the former Occupy Wall Street organizer who is now known for organizing this and last year's Unite the Right rallies, despite the interview doing more harm to Kessler's stance than good. Twitter banned Gavin McInnes and the Proud Boys in a crackdown on violent extremist groups, though the accounts of Jason Kessler, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and Unite the Right all remain un-suspended, leaving many with questions as to the true reason behind it. The governor of Virginia even declared a State of Emergency in preparation for the anniversary of the event, which went into effect at 3pm on Friday.
One could not look at social media this week without hearing about this event. Despite the purported condemnation of Kessler's rally, the media has been his best friend, giving him no end of free advertising.
But they don't seem to be paying the same amount of attention to violence occurring on the streets of Charlottesville, where no white supremacist marches are taking place. The only protestors in the town of the previous Unite the Right event, tonight, were so-called "counter-protestors" dressed in black bloc and carrying banners displaying their opposition to Unite the Right and Nazis, and it is these protestors who have become violent on the eve of the Washington, DC event.
https://twitter.com/scottheins/status/1028423818661031937
- scottheins
At approximately 3pm, EST, at the same time the State of Emergency was to go into effect, protestors dressed in black bloc marched out off the University of Virginia campus. It began as a silent vigil, with marchers carrying signs reading, "Good Night Alt Right," and "We Keep Us Safe." The silence was soon broken, though, by chants of "all cops are racist," and what began as a peaceful demonstration began to grow out of hand.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1028425815321653249
- Breaking911
Given the declared State of Emergency, it should come as no surprise that police and riot control officers were called to escort the self-described anti-fascists. This seemed to only agitate the protestors, however, and their chants grew to include, "why are you in riot gear, we don't see a riot here." But as evening gave way to night, the protestors became violent -- both with police officers, and with other protestors in their march.
If this is a prelude of what is to come tomorrow, there are no winners. We are all the lesser, for it.
https://twitter.com/CalNBC/status/1028448488273661960
- CalNBC
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1028450659304132608
- Breaking911
This article was originally published at: https://sevvie.ltd/uncategorized/without-fash-bash-charlottesville-protestors-attack-cops/