Saturday, August 12th, white supremacist gathered in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. The rally goers were met with counter-protesters. The night before, a mass of, mainly,  young white men gathered at a university for a torchlight protest. Once their torches were lit, they began an onslaught  of racist and anti-Semitic slurs: “Blood and soil!” “You will not replace us!” and, “Jews will not replace us!” Thirty U-Va students / counter protesters gathered and locked arms around a base of the statue of Thomas Jefferson. They were belittled and verbally assaulted by the protesters.

When Saturday morning approached, a park in Charlottesville was filled with white supremacist protesters and their counter-protesters. Each side came with their own stow of weapons. The tension soared when counter-protesters blocked white supremacists on Market Street. To get through, the white supremacists plowed through the other by swinging sticks, punching, and spraying chemicals. The police force showed no signs of de-escalating the fighting. At 11: 28 a.m. a state of emergency was locally declared by the city of Charlottesville, and Albemarle County.

The protest turned fatal when a car rammed into counter-protesters, and killed Heather Heyer and injured 19 other people. Two state troopers were also killed on their way to the rally when their helicopter tragically crashed. In total, 35 people were hurt in the rally. Pictures emerging from social media depict two white males attacking an unarmed black man with poles. More pictures surfaced of his bloodied scalp.

President Donald Trump’s comments of the clashing in Charlottesville did little to ease the nation. His reluctance to condemn the white nationalists, and blame “Both sides” sparked outrage among many. President Trump was accused of being a white nationalist himself.

Photo source: Drew Angerer/ Getty Images