A white nationalists’ demonstration in Charlottesville ended violently on Saturday, with a man plowing a car into counter-protesters killing a woman and injuring several others.
According to Police the driver of the car James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio has been arrested and charged with criminal homicide.
The terrible events in the city on Saturday – which began with a protest over planned removal of the statue of the statue of General Robert E. Lee, considered a Confederate Civil War hero – also included the crash of a Virginia State Police helicopter killing two officers and investigators are looking into the cause.
The woman killed in when the car rammed into the crowd has been identified as 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
President Donald Trump condemned the violence and hate “on all sides,” and condoled the loss of lives of State Police officers and Heather but critics asked him to call out white supremacists.
Virginia’ Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency following clashes between “armor-clad, shield-carrying “white nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters and condemned perpetrators of violence.
“I have a message to all the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple: Go home,” McAuliffe said at a news conference. “You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you.”
In Washington D.C., Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a civil rights investigation.
“The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice.” Sessions said,” When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated.”
A Voice of America report said white supremacists attending the rally on Saturday included alt-right leader Richard Spencer and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
NOTE: This story has updated information.
