Charlottesville numb after weekend rally turned deadly

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Reeling from a weekend of racial violence, this bucolic university town remained numb Monday from the death of a local woman and the others injured during a white nationalist rally over a statue of a Confederate war hero.

“People are edgy, they don’t know who to trust,” said Roshell Hill, 28. “If we can get the haters out of this town, Charlottesville can heal from what is now a broken heart.”

A liberal bastion in the mountains of Virginia, Charlottesville became a rallying cry for white nationalists who held a “Unite the Right” protest Saturday against a local effort to relocate a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

People from out of town poured in and the violence between protesters and counterprotesters escalated.

Heather Heyer, 32, died when a Nazi sympathizer drove his car into anti-fascist protesters. Another 19 people were injured.

While observing the protests, two Virginia state troopers were killed when their helicopter crashed.

On Monday, a makeshift memorial at East Water Street and Fourth Street Southeast attracted hundreds of mourners, who dropped off flowers where candles burned and balloons were tethered to signs that read: “No Place for Hate.”

“I was close to this,” said Jackie Webber, who dropped off flowers. “I was here. It was just so horrific and scary.

“It makes me mad for Charlottesville, sad for the country, this divisiveness,” she said.

Driver held without bond

The alleged driver, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, was arraigned Monday on second-degree murder, hit-and-run and other charges. A state judge here ordered him held without bond.

Fields is a Nazi sympathizer and had a fascination with Nazism, according to published reports that quoted friends and teachers in Ohio.

President Donald Trump on Saturday denounced the violence, but came under criticism for failing to single out white nationalist groups and white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which took part in the Charlottesville rally.

Trump, bowing to pressure from other Republicans and members of his administration, called out those groups on Monday in comments at the White House.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said the Justice Department would investigate the crime as an act of domestic terrorism and defended Trump’s initial comments.

The reaction from Washington, just about 100 miles to the northeast, seemed like worlds away to the people in Charlottesville.

Webber holds the president responsible.

“He knows those people are part of his base,” Webber said. “I think his rhetoric brought this all on.”

UNR student at rally

One of the marchers, University of Nevada, Reno student Peter Cvjetanovic, 20, said he came to the rally to “honor the heritage of white culture” but in no way condoned the violence that occurred.

Cvjetanovic texted a note to the Las Vegas Review-Journal after a picture of him at the rally appeared on social media. Another picture was posted of Cvjetanovic and other students with Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who said he did not know the individual.

Heller condemned the “outrageous racism hatred and violence” that occurred in Charlottesville.

The events over the past the three days have left Charlottesville shaken, “but this is a strong and diverse community,” said Zachary Taylor, 35.

A banner hanging on East Market Street, which runs past the park where the Lee statue stands reads “Diversity Makes Us Stronger.”

In front of the Lee statue is handmade sign that proclaims the area “Heyer Memorial Park.”

Taylor said he was out of town over the weekend, but on Monday, he was at the downtown memorial for Heyer and those wounded by Dodge Challenger driven by Fields.

“The people here stand together,” Taylor said. “It’s not because of race.”

Taylor said the college town would not be identified by racial strife, like Ferguson, Missouri.

Webber agreed.

When asked how Charlottesville moves ahead, Webber thought a moment, then said: “We need to be a model community that can heal from this.

“We have to try to stay together and work together for civil rights for all people,” she said.

Contact Gary Martin at 202-662-7390 or gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.