Protesters chant ‘f*ck you faggots’ at Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ march
Charlottesville protesters (Chet Strange/Getty)
Protesters at the “unite the Right” march in Charlottesville, Virginia were heard chanting “f*ck you faggots”.
In a clip caught by HuffPost reporter Christopher Mathias the group of people, who are seen holding Confederate flags and other racist symbols, can be heard shouting the homophobic phrase.
You heard that right. They're chanting "Fuck you faggots." 2017. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/pMwbSXZ3wW
— Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) August 12, 2017
A state of emergency has been declared amid the violence at the rally.
Police began to arrest people at the rally after declaring the protest, which was held at Emancipation Park, unlawful.
White nationalists and other right-wing groups clashed with counter-protesters in the college town which voted Democrat.
More than 1000 police officers were deployed for the event which was officially meant to start at midday, but hundreds of people had turned up by morning.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre deemed the protest, which is believed to have attracted up to 6,000 people, as the “largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States”.
Two people have been injured.
Police have fired tear gas and pepper spray in an attempt to break up the protest.
By declaring a state of emergency, local authorities can request additional resources if needed.
The Ku Klux Klan, who organised the march, chose the college town to protest in because right-wing activists were “outraged” that the city was trying to distance itself from its historic links to the Confederacy.
The city council had voted to remove a statue of General Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army of North Virginia.
Counter protesters clash with KKK led “hate parade”
(Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)
White nationalist marchers also marched on the University of Virginia yesterday evening (Friday).
The chanted “blood and soil” and “you will not replace us” as they circled a statue of Thomas Jefferson.
City officials and officials from the University of Virginia have condemned the unofficial march and protests that have taken place across two days.
“In my 47 years of association with @UVA, this was the most nauseating thing I’ve ever seen. We need an exorcism on the Lawn,” Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics tweeted.
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer released a statement referring to Friday’s rally as a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march down the lawns of the architect of our Bill of Rights.”
