Democratic lawmakers condemned the the violence that occurred in Charlottesville last August and President Trump’s initial response to it, as the anniversary of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville nears.
The Aug. 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally was organized to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and resulted in the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer. She died after a self-identified neo-Nazi drove a vehicle into a crowd.
Virginia State Police Troopers Lt. H. Jay Cullen III and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates were also killed in a helicopter crash while policing the event.
Trump received widespread backlash to his original comments after the events in Charlottesville when he said “both sides” shared blame for the violence. He today tweeted a denunciation of “all types of racism and acts of violence.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also weighted in on Twitter Saturday. “Today we remember the lives lost following the deadly rally that occurred a year ago in Charlottesville, when a group of white nationalists came to a peaceful Virginia town seeking to use hate and division to incite violence against fair-minded, innocent civilians,” he said.
“These purveyors of hate and bigotry were emboldened to take their message public by a President who has refused to categorically and unequivocally condemn them in clear terms,” Warner added.
These purveyors of hate and bigotry were emboldened to take their message public by a President who has refused to categorically and unequivocally condemn them in clear terms.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 11, 2018
Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., said there was still a “long way to go” before hate was obliterated in the U.S.
“On this anniversary, we look back filled with sorrow & pain at the lives lost, the families suffering, and the citizens terrified. I wish I could just say ‘never again’ but I recognize we have a long way to go to remove the hate and prejudice in our country and our communities,” McEachin tweeted.
“We must strive to do what we can to heal the rifts, tears and disparities in our society. We must recognize that intolerance and hate are all too prevalent and that each and every one of us has a duty to call it out and to do what we can to stop it. #Charlottesville,” McEachin tweeted.
We must strive to do what we can to heal the rifts, tears and disparities in our society. We must recognize that intolerance and hate are all too prevalent and that each and every one of us has a duty to call it out and to do what we can to stop it. #Charlottesville
— Rep. Donald McEachin (@RepMcEachin) August 11, 2018
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., echoed similar sentiments and said that there is “no place” in the U.S. for racism and hate.
“We will not forget what happened in #Charlottesville a year ago this weekend, or the victims of that ugly day in our country’s history,” Elizabeth Warren tweeted. “Racism, bigotry and hate have no place in this country. We will not compromise on this.”
We will not forget what happened in #Charlottesville a year ago this weekend, or the victims of that ugly day in our country’s history. Racism, bigotry and hate have no place in this country. We will not compromise on this.
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) August 11, 2018
A resolution was signed by Trump in September 2017 to condemn white nationalists and supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups. It also urged the executive branch and the administration to address the threat of these groups.
Trump also condemned “all types of racism” and violence Saturday morning.
Virginia and the City of Charlottesville have declared states of emergency from Aug. 10 to 12 because multiple events are expected to be held to remember the anniversary of the first Unite the Right rally.
A Unite the Right 2 protest is scheduled for Sunday in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., right by the White House. It was organized by Jason Kessler, who launched the original white supremacist rally last year.
