A white nationalist rally took place in Charlottesville, Virginia and it turned deadly after a car plowed through the counter protesters, leaving one dead and 19 injured.
The white nationalist rally was attended by neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members. They said that the rally was the first step in their attempt to take America back. The rally was called “United the Right” and those who attended in favor of the rally wore “Make America Great Again” caps.
Victim identified
CNBC identified the victim as Heather Heyer. The 32-year-old was one of the hundreds of counter protesters who went to the white nationalist rally to denounce the march.
Friends of Heyer said the killed activist stood up for people of color when she was still alive. They described her as a true American hero.
Heyer was killed while she was crossing the street when the car plowed through the crowd of counter protesters.
Suspect identified
The suspect was identified as a 20-year-old Ohio man named James Alex Fields Jr. Fields remains in custody on suspicion of second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and failure to stop in an accident that resulted in death.
Authorities are treating the incident as a criminal homicide investigation. Among the 19 patients injured, five are in critical condition while four are listed as being in a serious condition. All of them are being treated at the University of Virginia Health System.
One of the witnesses of the incident, Brennan Gilmore, said that the man who plowed his car through the crowd intentionally did what he did. Gilmore said the driver accelerated from the end of the street and slowed down before the crowd. However, the driver once again accelerated when he drove his car through the crowd.
Two Virginia State Police troopers also killed
According to NBC News, two Virginia State Police troopers also died after a police helicopter that assisted in the clash crashed. The helicopter crashed at around 5 p.m. and police said foul play is not suspected. The Washington Post identified them as Berke M.M. Bates and H. Jay Cullen.
Bates was the pilot of the helicopter and Cullen was the passenger.
Barack Obama, Gov. Terry McAuliffe denounces rally
Governor Terry Mcauliffe condemned the rally saying that all the white supremacists and Nazis who came to Charlottesville for the rally should go home because they are not wanted “in this great commonwealth.”
Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter to post a Nelson Mandela quote. The quote said people must learn to hate because if they learn that, they will be taught how to love.
"People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love..."
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017
President Donald Trump draws backlash after lack of condemnation of the rally
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to say that all must be united “and condemn all that hate stands for.” He noted that there is no place for this kind of violence in America then called on all citizens to come together as one.
In a news conference in New Jersey, Trump also commented on the rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly. He said the hate and division must stop right now but many have criticized him for not directly mentioning the white nationalists who took part in the rally.
