Tag: Charlottesville

From Charlottesville to the Capitol: Trump fueled right-wing violence — and it may soon get even worse

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As security is ramped up in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the U.S., the FBI is warning of more potential violence in the lead-up to Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Federal authorities have arrested over 100 people who took part in last week’s deadly insurrection at the Capitol, and The Washington Post reports that dozens of people on a terrorist watch list — including many white supremacists — were in Washington on the day of the insurrection. “This was something that had been coming for a long time,” ProPublica reporter A.C. Thompson, who covers right-wing extremism, says of the January 6 riot. “If you looked at the rhetoric online … it was all about revolution, it was all about death to tyrants, it was all about civil war.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

Security is being ramped up in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the United States as the FBI is warning of more “potential armed protests” in the lead-up to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s inauguration, following last week’s deadly insurrection at the Capitol. By Wednesday, 21,000 National Guard troops are expected to be in Washington, D.C. FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke publicly for the first time, more than a week after the insurrection, Thursday. Continue reading.

Confederate statue taken down in Charlottesville near the site of violent 2017 rally

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CHARLOTTESVILLE — Workers used a crane to remove a Confederate statue from its pedestal Saturday morning and lift an enormous weight from a community still scarred by the racist violence of 2017’s Unite the Right rally.

Crowds cheered behind metal barricades as the bronze figure of a Confederate soldier known as “At Ready” was taken down after 111 years outside a county courthouse in this historic university city.

Streets that had surged with white supremacists three years ago now rang with music and happy cheers. Families brought small children in blue Union Civil War caps. People wearing Black Lives Matter shirts danced as a student radio station played Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Sly and the Family Stone. Continue reading.

As Trump stands by Charlottesville remarks, rise of white-nationalist violence becomes an issue in 2020 presidential race

First came Joe Biden’s campaign announcement video highlighting President Trump’s “very fine people on both sides” comment about the 2017 white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville that left a counterprotester dead.

Then Trump dug in, arguing that he was referring not to the self-professed neo-Nazi marchers, but to those who had opposed the removal of a statue of the “great” Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Less than 24 hours later came another act of violence described by authorities as a hate crime: Saturday’s shooting at a synagogue in Poway, Calif., in which a gunman killed one person and injured three others.

View the complete April 28 article by Felicia Sonmez and Ashley Parker on The Washington Post website here.

Republicans Call ‘Expert’ To Whitewash Trump On Charlottesville

Republicans used a congressional hearing on the rising white supremacist threat to America to defend Trump and falsely claim that he didn’t praise Nazis who rioted in Charlottesville in 2017.

Instead of bringing serious witnesses before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Republicans invited Mort Klein, head of the Zionist Organization of America. Klein calls Arabs “filthy,” and his organization has welcomed white supremacist guests like Trump acolyte Steve Bannon to its events.

At the hearing, Klein was part of an exchange with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) in which he denied Trump’s infamous statement about the Charlottesville riot, describing neo-Nazis as “very fine people.”

View the complete April 9 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

A Year After Charlottesville, Trump Faces New Questions About Racism

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website August 14, 2018:

Racism charges resurface in light of feud with ex-aide Omarosa Manigault Newman

President Trump has attacked his former aide Omarosa Maginault Newman as a “lowlife” and a “dog.” Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call file photo

A year has passed since President Donald Trump was accused of racism after he failed to quickly and unequivocally condemn racially motivated violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. But recent claims made by and against his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman have given new life to those accusations.

On Saturday, the one-year anniversary of the Charlottesville violence, Trump tweeted that the riots “resulted in senseless death and division” and called for the nation to come together.

“I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence,” he said in his tweet. “Peace to ALL Americans!”

View the complete article here.

How to understand Trump’s condemnation of ‘all types of racism’

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website August 12, 2018:

President Trump condemned “all types of racism” in a tweet on the first anniversary of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. Video: Elyse Samuels Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

Sharply criticized for his failure to immediately condemn racist protesters after last year’s unrest in Charlottesville, President Trump this year tried to get out ahead of the issuebefore a planned march in Washington on Sunday.

“The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division,” Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon. “We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!”

Trump was also criticized after Charlottesville for his equation of the concerns of the white-nationalist groups with those of the people coming out to oppose those groups. In his tweet on Saturday, he did the same thing.

View the complete article here.

Neo-Nazis hope to leverage Alex Jones controversies one year after Charlottesville violence

The following article by Matthew Sheffield was posted on the Hill website August 9, 2018:

Credit: Washington Post illustration; iStock

White nationalist activists are seeking to leverage a series of social media setbacks experienced by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones by encouraging even more technology companies to ban Jones’ Infowars website in the hopes of radicalizing his dedicated fanbase.

In a post on his Daily Stormer website, neo-Nazi blogger Andrew Anglin wrote that Jones’ banning from Facebook, YouTube, and elsewhere could encourage Republican elected officials to create laws which would prevent private technology firms from cancelling the accounts of users, including racist groups.

Last August, Anglin’s publication was banned by many internet domain providers after a rally organized by white nationalists and other hate groups in Charlottesville, Va., descended into violence that eventually ended in the death of three people.

View the complete post and video here.

Trump says he condemns ‘all types of racism’ ahead of Charlottesville anniversary

The following article by Avery Anapol and Tal Aexelrod was posted on the Hill website August 11, 2018:

President Trump on Saturday tweeted that he condemns “all types of racism and acts of violence” ahead of the first anniversary of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump has been under intense pressure to condemn last year’s violence and speak out against white supremacists organizing an anniversary rally set to take place on Sunday.

“The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division,” he tweeted. “We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!”

View the complete article here.

The Memo: Charlottesville anniversary puts Trump and race under microscope

The following article by Niall Stanage was posted on the Hill website August 11, 2018:

 

President Trump answers questions about his response to the violence, injuries and deaths at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville as he talks to the media in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, Aug. 15, 2017. Credit: Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

President Trump’s attitude to race is under the microscope at the first anniversary of fatal racist violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump’s reference to “some very fine people on both sides” after white supremacists converged on the Virginia city and a counterprotestor, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed, sparked outrage and prompted even many Republicans to distance themselves from him.

The furor did nothing to water down Trump’s willingness to step into sensitive, racially charged areas, however, a fact underlined by the president’s tweets in the past week.

View the complete article here.

Charlottesville Anniversary

President Trump answers questions about his response to the violence, injuries and deaths at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville as he talks to the media in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, Aug. 15, 2017. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

We’re one year past the Charlottesville tragedy, and Trump has only further cemented his status as a divider. Rather than work to ease racial tensions and bridge cultural divides in America, the president has made it clear that he prefers to use division as a tool to rally his base.

We have not forgotten that the leader of this country openly and unapologetically defended the alt-right, white supremacists, and Neo-Nazis. Every time Trump insults black leaders, tweets about anthem protests, or uses racist and offensive language, he continues to divide our country.

Democrats have denounced in the strongest possible terms the hatred, bigotry, and racism that led to the senseless murder of an innocent woman at the Charlottesville protests. Democrats believe that there’s no room for this sort of brutality in America.

Democrats believe in a future of inclusion and opportunity for all Americans. Absolutely no one should fear for their safety because of the color of their skin.

Diversity is our nation’s greatest strength, and any actions that make this country less inclusive are inherently un-American. We’ll fight tooth and nail against any attempts to divide our country.