mobanmarketWASHINGTON, DC — Crowds of police, protesters and news media were at Lafayette Park in downtown Washington, D.C., Sunday as white nationalists held their second “Unite the Right” rally, a year after the fatal rally in Charlottesville. About 400 people were expected to attend the demonstration, but the group was outnumbered as thousands of counter-protesters turned out to oppose the event.
Once rain started to fall at about 5 p.m., crowds began to dissipate. Media outlets report that the white nationalists were brought back to Virginia in vans shortly after 5 p.m. Police are currently asking counter-protestors to clear out of the area.
Jason Kessler, who organized last year’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, spoke at the rally in Lafayette Square park, across the street from the White House. WTOP reports Kessler said “white people are a great people” that “need a civil rights advocate” during the Metro ride.
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Kessler and his group arrived at the Foggy Bottom subway station at about 3 p.m. FOX5 says about 30 white nationalists received police escort while marching to Lafayette Square park.
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Police separated the huge crowds of counter-protesters and white nationalists at Lafayette Square.
“This is not normal,” counter-protestor Kaitlin Moore, 28, of Frederick, Md. told CNN. “We won’t tolerate bigotry and hate in the United States.”
Here is the scene in photos and videos:
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Demonstrators were escorted by police as they traveled from the Vienna Metro to the Foggy Bottom Station.(Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Jason Kessler, who organized the rally, speaks to the crowd in Lafayette Park. (Photos by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Counter-protestors show support for Black Lives Matter as they line F Street Northwest. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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(Photo of protester at Vienna Metro Station by Patch Editor Emily Leayman)