2017 Unite the Right rally

Unite the Right rally

Demonstrators and counterdemonstrators clash at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.
Date	August 11–12, 2017 (2017-08-11 – 2017-08-12)
Location	Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Theme	Protest the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials from public spaces
Organized by	Jason Kessler
3 deaths 1 killed during vehicle-ramming 2 state troopers killed in helicopter crash 38+ non-fatal injuries 19 injured during vehicle-ramming at least 19 injured in other clashes
Arrest(s)	5

The Unite the Right rally (also known as the Charlottesville rally) was a gathering of far-right groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, on August 11–12, 2017. Those assembled at the rally included members of white supremacist, white nationalist, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, and militia movements. The participants were protesting against the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials from public spaces, specifically the Robert E. Lee statue in Emancipation Park.

The scheduled rally was officially canceled due to a state of emergency declared by Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe as well as readying the National Guard due to police inability to control the situation. Later that afternoon, a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters, during which a woman died and 19 other people were injured (five critically). Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it domestic terrorism, and has started a civil rights investigation to determine if it will be tried in court as a hate crime. At least 19 people were injured in street brawls, and other violence at the rally.

Separately, a police helicopter monitoring the scene crashed 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Charlottesville, killing the two Virginia State Police troopers on board.