I was in Charlottesville. Trump was wrong about violence on the left

Given the cacophony of people here on ATS who WERE NOT THERE, claiming to know for certain that "both sides" were equally at fault - I thought it would be appropriate to post the first-hand account of somebody who was THERE and witnessed what actually happened.

From: guardian.com....

I was in Charlottesville. Trump was wrong about violence on the left

Jason Wilson, who was in Charlottesville during the white nationalist rally, says the record must be cleared: counter-protesters came in peace

Donald Trump said many things over the course of his press conference yesterday. Some of those things cannot be allowed to stand.

I was in Charlottesville over the weekend, and Trump’s characterization of the events there is flatly wrong.

At one point, Trump asked reporters: “Excuse me, what about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at the, as you say, the ‘alt-right’? Do they have any semblance of guilt?”

He continued: “Let me ask you this. What about the fact they came charging – that they came charging, with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

Let’s talk about what really happened.

On Friday night, hundreds of white supremacists and neo-fascists had a torchlight march across the University of Virginia’s campus, a place to which they had not been invited. They openly chanted fascist slogans like “blood and soil” and “Jews will not replace us”.

When they reached a much smaller group of counter-protesters gathered around a statue of Thomas Jefferson, they surrounded them, hurled verbal abuse and then commenced beating them with lit torches and fists, and using pepper spray on them. Some protesters told me they had been sprayed with lighter fluid while naked flames burned all around them.

Some of the people trapped around the statue responded with fists and pepper spray, but their actions, and their posture, was entirely defensive from the start.

The “alt-right”, on the other hand, came prepared for violence, and they were spoiling for it.

That night, it was not the left that “came charging, with clubs in their hands”. Quite the contrary.

On Saturday, again, the far-right protesters came primed for violence, and most counter-protesters adopted an entirely defensive posture.

Hundreds of white supremacists, mostly young men, marched to Emancipation Park through the streets of Charlottesville in military-style formations.

Again, they chanted fascist slogans. They carried the colors of openly fascist organizations, which promote white supremacy, antisemitism, misogyny and the idea of a white ethno-state.

Many wore helmets and carried shields. Many carried clubs and chemical sprays. All of these were used on counter-protesters. And initially, the counter-protesters I saw from my perch at the south-east corner of the park used entirely passive methods to try to block the passage of the far-right groups.

As one of the far right’s formations approached Emancipation Park, I witnessed one of their number spray mace into the face of a young, female counter-protester who had done no more than talk to them.

I saw a large man, around 6ft 3in, dressed in full riot gear, swinging a club at any counter-protester he could find.

I saw a group of 250 or more white-shirted young men shove aside and threaten 20 members of the clergy who had linked arms at the top of a set of stairs, and hurl racial epithets at Cornel West.

At the time they did this, they were being monitored by counter-protesters, some of whom were themselves armed. But the fact that they were watching was welcomed by West, who said: “We would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the anarchists and the antifascists.”

I was near the bottom of the stairs that West was standing at the top of. I think he’s right. And bear in mind that he and everyone else in the counter-protest were promoting the values of antiracism, feminism, LGBT rights and equality.

There was violence from some counter-protesters. But most, like Heather Heyer, who was allegedly killed by one of the far-right marchers, were entirely peaceful.

Heyer’s killing and the injury of 20 people with a car was the culmination of a day where the right had come prepared for violence, appeared to be thirsting for it and committed far more of it than the other side. It was also a day when they gathered in the name of white supremacy.

So Tuesday, when the president said: “You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent,” he was doing no more and no less than apologizing for fascist violence.

From: guardian.com....

I guess he's crossed that path of being able to be EVERYWHERE within the city of Charlottesville. And, at all times.

Too cool, WAAAAAAY too cool.

[ this is sarcasm, btw, in case someone didn't catch the drift ]

So the left can keep attacking people at these events over and over, but once the right snaps back, it turns into "hey stop we were just kidding bro"

Another great made-up fantastic story.

People on both sides are violent. No one can deny that.

It doesn't mean either side is inherently evil. Anyone who gets caught up in that belief is just wrong.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

The "left" attacked no-one at Charlottesville. First hand accounts prove that the Right instigated and continued the violence and that the "Left" merely defended itself.

Did you even read the article before responding?

originally posted by: xuenchen
Another great made-up fantastic story.

Prove it's made up.

Put your money where your mouth is.

Awaiting your proof......

Nice Nazi Apologists here....


I mean, c'mon folks, you honestly believe a white supremacist or neo-nazi would come to a protest like this looking for violence?!?

It's a billion billion times more believable that people marching for peace/love/acceptance/oppeness are the ones who are violent.

originally posted by: Kryties

I was in Charlottesville. Trump was wrong about violence on the left

Jason Wilson, who was in Charlottesville during the white nationalist rally, says the record must be cleared: counter-protesters came in peace

Donald Trump said many things over the course of his press conference yesterday. Some of those things cannot be allowed to stand.

I was in Charlottesville over the weekend, and Trump’s characterization of the events there is flatly wrong.

At one point, Trump asked reporters: “Excuse me, what about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at the, as you say, the ‘alt-right’? Do they have any semblance of guilt?”

He continued: “Let me ask you this. What about the fact they came charging – that they came charging, with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

Let’s talk about what really happened.

On Friday night, hundreds of white supremacists and neo-fascists had a torchlight march across the University of Virginia’s campus, a place to which they had not been invited. They openly chanted fascist slogans like “blood and soil” and “Jews will not replace us”.

When they reached a much smaller group of counter-protesters gathered around a statue of Thomas Jefferson, they surrounded them, hurled verbal abuse and then commenced beating them with lit torches and fists, and using pepper spray on them. Some protesters told me they had been sprayed with lighter fluid while naked flames burned all around them.

Some of the people trapped around the statue responded with fists and pepper spray, but their actions, and their posture, was entirely defensive from the start.

The “alt-right”, on the other hand, came prepared for violence, and they were spoiling for it.

That night, it was not the left that “came charging, with clubs in their hands”. Quite the contrary.

On Saturday, again, the far-right protesters came primed for violence, and most counter-protesters adopted an entirely defensive posture.

Hundreds of white supremacists, mostly young men, marched to Emancipation Park through the streets of Charlottesville in military-style formations.

Again, they chanted fascist slogans. They carried the colors of openly fascist organizations, which promote white supremacy, antisemitism, misogyny and the idea of a white ethno-state.

Many wore helmets and carried shields. Many carried clubs and chemical sprays. All of these were used on counter-protesters. And initially, the counter-protesters I saw from my perch at the south-east corner of the park used entirely passive methods to try to block the passage of the far-right groups.

As one of the far right’s formations approached Emancipation Park, I witnessed one of their number spray mace into the face of a young, female counter-protester who had done no more than talk to them.

I saw a large man, around 6ft 3in, dressed in full riot gear, swinging a club at any counter-protester he could find.

I saw a group of 250 or more white-shirted young men shove aside and threaten 20 members of the clergy who had linked arms at the top of a set of stairs, and hurl racial epithets at Cornel West.

At the time they did this, they were being monitored by counter-protesters, some of whom were themselves armed. But the fact that they were watching was welcomed by West, who said: “We would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the anarchists and the antifascists.”

I was near the bottom of the stairs that West was standing at the top of. I think he’s right. And bear in mind that he and everyone else in the counter-protest were promoting the values of antiracism, feminism, LGBT rights and equality.

There was violence from some counter-protesters. But most, like Heather Heyer, who was allegedly killed by one of the far-right marchers, were entirely peaceful.

Heyer’s killing and the injury of 20 people with a car was the culmination of a day where the right had come prepared for violence, appeared to be thirsting for it and committed far more of it than the other side. It was also a day when they gathered in the name of white supremacy.

So Tuesday, when the president said: “You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent,” he was doing no more and no less than apologizing for fascist violence.

From: guardian.com....

Given the cacophony of people here on ATS who WERE NOT THERE, claiming to know for certain that "both sides" were equally at fault - I thought it would be appropriate to post the first-hand account of somebody who was THERE and witnessed what actually happened.

As far as I am concerned, this is like when two 10 year olds get into a fight in the boy's bathroom and then the teacher comes in and both boys point at each other crying "He started it!"

I posted a response in Grambler's thread that not a single one of you butthurt SJWs responded to because you can't.

PRIOR to Donald Trump's press conference, the Charlottesville police chief said the following when pressed by a reporter:

When a reporter asked: “Do you believe that one side was more responsible than the other for instigating the violence?"

Thomas replied: “This was an alt-right rally.”

The reporter pressed further: “Do you believe that they're the ones who instigated the fighting?”

Thomas answered: “We did have mutually combating individuals in the crowd.”

When the police chief said the exact same thing, there was no out cry in the media. No one was saying he was justifying the white nationalists because he said the counter protesters were "mutally combative." Why?

Here is the actual video so you can see it for yourself. Skip to about 10:30 for the quotes above...

originally posted by: FHomerK
I guess he's crossed that path of being able to be EVERYWHERE within the city of Charlottesville. And, at all times.

Too cool, WAAAAAAY too cool.

[ this is sarcasm, btw, in case someone didn't catch the drift ]

Right back at you. How do you know there WAS alt-left violence beyond defensive actions?

a reply to: Wayfarer

I know right?

It doesn't surprise me in the least , however. We even have people claiming it's "made up" while offering no proof of that whatsoever.

It boggles the mind how delusional some people are.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

This wasn't the "Right snapping back" this was a planned event with neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups with a purpose

a reply to: Kryties

Well, there's videos all over YouTube that show the opposite of what that person is saying.

Neither white nationalists/Nazis nor AntiFa have ever shown themselves to do anything peacefully.

Just another person pushing an agenda.

It doesnt go along with Trumps version of events. and thus a large portion of responses to this thread will be "fake news!"

I personally think there are two very different nights. IMO friday was white supremacists and neo nazis with torches lookingfor confrontation. Vastly outnumbering a smaller group of counter protesters circling the Jefferson statue. The violence was brought by the people with torches.

Saturday had much more of an equal day in terms of violence with anitfa showing up in numbers ( up until someone ran someone over with a car)

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kryties

Well, there's videos all over YouTube that show the opposite of what that person is saying.

Neither white nationalists/Nazis nor AntiFa have ever shown themselves to do anything peacefully.

Just another person pushing an agenda.

So when the guy drove his car into the crowd they should have been peaceful after that?

originally posted by: Edumakated

I posted a response in Grambler's thread that not a single one of you butthurt SJWs responded to because you can't.

I would make a pretty safe bet that the reason you weren't replied to is directly related to the underlined part above. Treat people like that and what do you expect? If you treat others like human beings and be respectful you will get a lot further.

originally posted by: XAnarchistX
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

This wasn't the "Right snapping back" this was a planned event with neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups with a purpose

But isn't it interesting that they equate "the right" with a nazi group?

I mean, does no one find that interesting?

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kryties

Well, there's videos all over YouTube that show the opposite of what that person is saying.

Neither white nationalists/Nazis nor AntiFa have ever shown themselves to do anything peacefully.

Just another person pushing an agenda.

Post them please. I want to see videos of the "Left" instigating violence and "charging" the "Right".

Awaiting your evidence......

a reply to: xuenchen

It's only fake if it doesn't fit your narrative

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker
So the left can keep attacking people at these events over and over, but once the right snaps back, it turns into "hey stop we were just kidding bro"

Yeah, how dare the left show up and white supremacist rally. Oh wait minute, the white supremacists went to Charlotte. So what you are saying is the left should just let the white supremacists do whatever they want? What would you do if violent left wing protesters marched in your town demanding the legalization of marijuana?