The city of Charlottesville on Saturday marked the anniversary of last summer’s violent Unite the Right rally with what the AP called “largely peaceful vigils,” but the day ended with violent confrontations as campus radicals and antifa agitators, angry over the heavy police presence, clashed with the police and members of the media. A least a couple of scuffles broke out when left-wing agitators attacked a police officer in one instance and some members of the media in another.
“Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see no riot here,” student activists chanted Saturday evening.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1028425815321653249
Activists unfurled a banner that read, “Last year they came w/ torches. This year they come w/ badges,” before the pre-planned rally.
They chanted, “All cops are racist!”
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1028431912241692673
More than 200 left-wing protesters marched to another part of the University of Virginia campus, where, the AP delicately notes, “many in the crowd shouted at officers in riot gear who had formed a line.”
Protest now in #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/FQd7ntedEb
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 12, 2018
A one point, a couple of protesters scuffled with a police officer and knocked him to the ground. Another officer had to hold him back when he got back on his feet, as he lunged toward his attackers.
https://twitter.com/WiredSources/status/1028475036842303488
Protesters shouted things like, “Back off, dudes!” “F*ck you!” “You don’t protect us!” and “All cops are bastards!”
Getting ugly in #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/WWZnexuzzm
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 12, 2018
Kibiriti Majuto, a coordinator for UVA Students United, told reporters that the students moved to another part of campus because they didn’t want to be “caged” in the area where the rally had been planned.
“How does that create a sense of community? How are we going to be safe in that situation?” he asked. “Cops and Klan go hand in hand,” he said.
According to NBC’s Cal Perry, agitators in the crowd also started getting aggressive with the media:
Protesters very aggressive with media. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/CSYNyvBbeG
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 12, 2018
Ugly. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/VoeCTu59y1
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 12, 2018
An antifa agitator attacked an NBC reporter and his camera crew: “F*ck you, snitch-ass news b*tch!,” the agitator spat as he tussled with a cameraman:
“Fu** you, snitch ass news bitch. Fu** you”. #Charlotsville pic.twitter.com/JPl3480FUG
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 12, 2018
There were no immediate reports of arrests on campus as a result of the scuffles.
Earlier in the day there were three arrests inside or near the security area in downtown Charlottesville. One man was arrested for trespassing, another for possessing prohibited items during the rally, and one more was arrested for being drunk in public.
There were no white supremacists at the “mostly peaceful” rally in Charlottesville on Saturday.
A Unite the Right 2 Rally has been scheduled for Sunday and is expected to get violent as the counter-protesters will be made up of lefty agitators and antifa goons who will greatly out-number the white supremacists.
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