On Friday night, a group of about 100 white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis marched on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying tiki torches, giving the Nazi salute, and chanting slogans including “you will not replace us” and “white lives matter.”
The most striking photos from the white supremacist Charlottesville protests
A group of racist protesters gathered in Charlottesville with tiki torches, chanting “you will not replace us” and “white lives matter.”
At one point, the torch-wielding group of mostly white men surrounded a smaller of group of counterprotesters standing at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson, and a brawl broke out. Counterprotesters reported being hit with pepper spray by marchers; according to the Washington Post, one counterprotester also used a “chemical spray” against marchers. “They completely surrounded us and wouldn’t let us out,” local activist Emily Gorcenski told the Guardian.
Organizers affiliated with the white nationalist alt-right called the march in advance of a larger protest scheduled for Saturday to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in a park in Charlottesville.
The images from the march offer a stunning glimpse at just how real white supremacy still is in America. Here are five of the most evocative:
The protesters carried tiki torches — yes, there is some irony here — as they marched to the University of Virginia
Zach Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Anti-racism and anti-fascist counterprotesters were surrounded by the demonstrators at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Some of the racist protesters were very passionate and angry — leading to a brawl that police broke up later in the night
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The protesters marched through the University of Virginia, which quickly condemned the torch-wielding demonstrations and the violence they caused
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
During a brawl, protesters and counterprotesters were hit with pepper spray. Here, one white supremacist helps another clean it off.
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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