CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on events marking the anniversary of violent white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times local):

10:15 p.m.

The police chief in Washington, D.C., says only one person was arrested after a chaotic day of protests and counterprotests centered around a white nationalist rally in front of the White House.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser hailed the police department’s performance Sunday, saying it was “successful in allowing the First Amendment activities to happen while maintaining peace.”

There were several tense moments, with police essentially shielding the 20 or so white nationalist demonstrators from several thousand enraged counterprotesters on the anniversary of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Police Chief Peter Newsham called it “a well-executed plan to safeguard people and property while allowing citizens to express their First Amendment rights.”

Police also had a tense standoff with about 150 masked antifa protesters who marched through the area blocking traffic after the white nationalists left.

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6:50 p.m.

A group of about 150 to 200 anti-fascists is confronting police about a half-mile from the White House after a white nationalist demonstration broke up.

Antifa members, many of them wearing black masks, marched around downtown Washington on Sunday evening in the rain. In a tense scene, police shoved back the advancing counterprotesters, but it didn’t appear any tear gas has been used.

The group had been separated earlier from the few dozen white nationalists who rallied in front of the White House on the anniversary of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Donald Trump is in New Jersey.

The white nationalists later packed into white vans and left, escorted by the police.

Antifa is shorthand for the far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

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6:20 p.m.

White nationalists who marched on Washington and rallied at a park near the White House have left the area in white vans under a police escort.

The demonstration led by the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jason Kessler, ended earlier than expected. Those marching with Kessler numbered only about 30, far fewer than the 100 to 400 he predicted in a permit for the demonstration.

Thousands of counterdemonstrators showed up to jeer and shout insults at the white nationalists as they made their way through Washington streets. Police kept the two sides separated during the march and the rally.

The white nationalists were commemorating last year’s Unite the Right event in Charlottesville, which turned violent and deadly.

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5:30 p.m.

The city of Charlottesville, Virginia, says four people have been arrested in incidents marking the anniversary of last summer’s violent white nationalist rally.

Authorities said in a statement Sunday that two arrests stemmed from a confrontation near a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee where a Spotsylvania, Virginia, man stopped to salute the statue and a Charlottesville woman confronted him and a physical altercation took place. Both face disorderly conduct charges.

Officials say a Charlottesville man who positioned himself in front of police motorcycle units also was arrested, as well as a Portland, Maine, woman following an altercation.

Police in northern Virginia’s Fairfax County also reported the arrest of a man accused of spitting on state troopers providing security at a Metro station. The station saw increased ridership Sunday on the line into Washington, where a “Unite the Right” event drew counterprotesters.

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5 p.m.

A few thousand people have converged on downtown Washington to counter a demonstration by about 30 white nationalists and denounce their racist views.

Police have been keeping the two groups separate as the white nationalists rally in Lafayette Park in front of the White House. No violence has been reported.

As it began to rain, a chant went up from the crowd: “It’s hot, it’s wet, but we aren’t done with the Nazis yet.”

The demonstration and counterdemonstration come on the anniversary of last year’s deadly gathering of neo-Nazis, skinheads, Ku Klux Klan members and others in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sunday’s gathering is being led by the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event, Jason Kessler, who calls the demonstration a rally for white civil rights.

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4:55 p.m.

A group of about 30 white nationalists has marched to a park near the White House for what they call a rally in favor of white civil rights.

Thousands of counterprotesters are in the area, too, and jeered and heckled the white nationalists as they made their way down the street surrounded by police.

The demonstration and counterdemonstration come on the anniversary of last year’s deadly gathering of neo-Nazis, skinheads, Ku Klux Klan members, and others in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sunday’s gathering is being led by the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event, Jason Kessler.

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3:45 p.m.

A contingent of about 30 white nationalists is marching down a Washington street toward the White House surrounded by a protective bubble of police officers and vehicles.

Hundreds of counterprotesters are walking alongside the group but keeping on the sidewalks, many of them shouting and taunting the nationalists as they make their way to a park in front of the White House.

The demonstration and counterdemonstration come on the anniversary of last year’s deadly gathering of neo-Nazis, skinheads, Ku Klux Klan members, and others in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sunday’s gathering is being led by the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event, Jason Kessler, who calls the demonstration a rally for white civil rights.

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2:30 p.m.

More than 1,000 protesters are gathered in Freedom Plaza near the White House to rally against a white nationalist demonstration scheduled for later in the day.

The demonstration is being held on the first anniversary of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent and led to the death of a counterprotester.

Makia Green, who represents the Washington branch of Black Lives Matter, told Sunday’s crowd that: “We know from experience that ignoring white nationalism doesn’t work.”

The counterprotesters plan to march to Lafayette Square in front of the White House, just before the arrival of the white nationalists. Police have erected a maze of barricades to keep the two sides apart.

The counterprotesters are expected to far outnumber the white nationalists.

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2 p.m.

The mother of a woman killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally last summer has visited the site of the attack to mark the anniversary of her daughter’s death.

Heather Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, embraced supporters Sunday in downtown Charlottesville. At one point, she asked the crowd to raise their fists in solidarity, and she laid flowers at a makeshift memorial.

Bro said there’s still “so much healing to do.” She said the city and the country have a “huge racial problem” and that if it’s not fixed, “we’ll be right back here in no time.”

Bro also said the day was about more than just her daughter. She recognized the other victims of the attack, which injured dozens of people, and thanked the two Virginia state troopers killed in a helicopter crash for their sacrifice.

Lt. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates died when their helicopter crashed while deployed as part of the response to last year’s violence.

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1:45 p.m.

A park across the street from the White House is already filling up with people who oppose a white nationalist demonstration that is scheduled to take place later Sunday.

The white nationalists are gathering in Washington on the first anniversary of their rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent and led to the death of a counterprotester.

A stage has been set up in Lafayette Park and rap music is playing for a crowd of about 300, many of whom are carrying signs saying “Shut down white supremacy.”

Uniformed police officers and a line of police barricades have cut the park in half, restricting the counterprotesters to the northern half, farthest from the White House.

A counterprotest organizer, speaking from the stage, said: “We will be here until these fascist forces are gone, however long that takes.”

The white supremacist rally is scheduled to end at 7:30 p.m.

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11:45 a.m.

More than 100 people are demonstrating against racism in downtown Charlottesville, marking the one-year anniversary of a violent white nationalist rally and protesting this year’s ramped-up police presence.

The group began marching Sunday morning after a rally held at a city park and made its way toward downtown. Some marchers linked arms as they walked.

The group directed chants against police officers who were accompanying the march, including “cops and Klan go hand in hand.”

Law enforcement officials faced blistering criticism in the wake of last year’s rally for what was perceived as a passive response to the violence that unfolded.

A review by a former U.S. attorney found a lack of coordination between state and city police and an operational plan that elevated officer safety over public safety.

Demonstrators on Sunday chanted, “Will you protect us?”

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9:20 a.m.

Dozens of activists and residents have gathered at a Charlottesville city park to protest racism and to observe the one-year anniversary of a rally by white supremacist that turned deadly.

The Rev. Seth Wispelwey is a founder of a group of clergy and lay people called “Congregate C-ville” last year. The group came together in direct response to white nationalists who gathered in Charlottesville for a “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, 2017.

On that day, white supremacists and counterprotesters clashed in the city streets before a car driven into a crowd struck and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Wispelwey says the city’s residents are still reeling from the violence that day, but he expressed hope that the anniversary can be a turning point.

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A day after tensions between police and community activists nearly boiled over on the University of Virginia’s campus, the city of Charlottesville plans to mark Sunday’s anniversary of a deadly gathering of white supremacists with a rally against racial hatred. But 115 miles (185 kilometers) away in Washington, the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event will hold a “white civil rights rally,” and police are preparing for counterprotesters.

Jason Kessler abandoned plans for a similar anniversary event in Charlottesville. His Washington permit application says he expects 100 to 400 people Sunday afternoon in Lafayette Park, near the White House.

But some leading figures in the white nationalist movement have said they won’t attend or encouraged supporters to stay away. And the events likely will be dwarfed by counterprotests, for which permits also have been issued.

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3 a.m.

A day after tensions between police and community activists nearly boiled over on the University of Virginia’s campus, the city of Charlottesville plans to mark Sunday’s anniversary of a deadly gathering of white supremacists with a rally against racial hatred.

But 115 miles (185 kilometers) away in Washington, the principal organizer of last year’s “Unite the Right” event will hold a “white civil rights rally,” and police are preparing for counterprotesters.

Jason Kessler abandoned plans for a similar anniversary event in Charlottesville. His Washington permit application says he expects 100 to 400 people Sunday afternoon in Lafayette Park, near the White House.

But some leading figures in the white nationalist movement have said they won’t attend or encouraged supporters to stay away. And the events likely will be dwarfed by counterprotests, for which permits also have been issued.

Source: https://wtop.com/dc/2018/08/the-latest-1-arrest-made-in-dc-in-charlottesville-protests/

The post The Latest: 1 arrest made in DC in Charlottesville protests first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In doing so, Trump used the bullhorn of the presidency to give voice to the grievances of white nationalists, and aired some of his own. His remarks Tuesday amounted to a rejection of the Republicans, business leaders and White House advisers who earlier this week had pushed the president to more forcefully and specifically condemn the KKK members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who took to the streets of Charlottesville.

The angry exchange with reporters at his skyscraper hotel in New York City laid bare a reality of the Trump presidency: Trump cannot be managed by others or steered away from damaging political land mines. His top aides were stunned by his comments, with some — including new chief of staff John Kelly — standing by helplessly as the president escalated his rhetoric.

Standing in the lobby of Trump Tower, Trump acknowledged that there were “some very bad people” among those who gathered to protest Saturday. But he added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”

The rally was organized by white supremacists and other groups under a “Unite the Right” banner. Organizers said they were initially activated by their objections to the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, but the larger aim was to protest what they saw as an “anti-white” climate in America.

In his remarks, Trump condemned bigoted ideology and called James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of counter-protester killing a 32-year-old woman, “a disgrace to himself, his family and his country.” But Trump also expressed support for those seeking to maintain the monument to Lee, equating him with some of the nation’s founders who also owned slaves.

“So, this week it’s Robert E. Lee,” he said. “I noticed that Stonewall Jackson’s coming down. I wonder, ‘is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?’ You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

He continued: “You’re changing history. You’re changing culture.”

The president’s comments effectively wiped away the more conventional statement he delivered at the White House a day earlier when he branded the white supremacists who take part in violence as “criminals and thugs.” Trump’s advisers had hoped those remarks might quell criticism of his initial response, but the president’s retorts Tuesday suggested he had been a reluctant participant in that cleanup effort.

Once again, the blowback was swift, including from fellow Republicans. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Trump should not allow white supremacists “to share only part of the blame.” House Speaker Paul Ryan declared in a tweet that “white supremacy is repulsive” and there should be “no moral ambiguity,” though he did not specifically address the president.

Trump’s remarks were welcomed by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who tweeted: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth.”

Some of the president’s comments Tuesday mirrored rhetoric from the far-right fringe. A post Monday by the publisher of The Daily Stormer, a notorious neo-Nazi website, predicted that protesters are going to demand that the Washington Monument be torn down.

Trump’s handling of the weekend violence has raised new and troubling questions, even among some supporters. Members of his own Republican Party have pressured him to be more vigorous in criticizing bigoted groups, and business leaders have begun abandoning a White House jobs panel in response to his comments.

White House officials were caught off guard by his remarks Tuesday. He had signed off on a plan to ignore questions from journalists during an event touting infrastructure policies, according to a White House official not authorized to speak publicly about a private discussion. Once behind the lectern and facing the cameras, he overruled the decision.

As Trump talked, his aides on the sidelines in the lobby stood in silence. Chief of staff John Kelly crossed his arms and stared down at his shoes, barely glancing at the president. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders looked around the room trying to make eye contact with other senior aides. One young staffer stood with her mouth agape.

Kelly was brought into the White House less than a month ago to try to bring order and stability to a chaotic West Wing. Some Trump allies hoped the retired Marine general might be able to succeed where others have failed: controlling some of Trump’s impulses. But the remarks Tuesday once again underscored Trump’s insistence on airing his complaints and opinions.

Democrats were aghast at Trump’s comments. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said on Twitter that the Charlottesville violence “was fueled by one side: white supremacists spreading racism, intolerance & intimidation. Those are the facts.” Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said on Twitter that he no longer views Trump as his president.

“As a Jew, as an American, as a human, words cannot express my disgust and disappointment,” Schatz said. “This is not my president.”

When asked to explain his Saturday comments about Charlottesville, Trump looked down at his notes and again read a section of his initial statement that denounced bigotry but did not single out white supremacists. He then tucked the paper back into his jacket pocket.

Trump, who has quickly deemed other deadly incidents in the U.S. and around the world as acts of terrorism, waffled when asked whether the car death was a terrorist attack.

“There is a question. Is it murder? Is it terrorism?” Trump said. “And then you get into legal semantics. The driver of the car is a murderer and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing.”

Trump said he had yet to call the mother of crash victim Heather Heyer, but would soon “reach out.” He praised her for what he said was a nice statement about him on social media.

As he finally walked away from his lectern, he stopped to answer one more shouted question: Would he visit Charlottesville? The president noted he owned property there and said — inaccurately — that it was one of the largest wineries in the United States.

AP writers Darlene Superville and Richard Lardner contributed to this report. Pace reported from Washington.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/defiant-trump-insists-anew-blame-both-sides-for-violence/2017/08/15/d11099b8-8224-11e7-9e7a-20fa8d7a0db6_story.html

The post Defiant Trump renews criticism of ‘both sides’ in protest first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.