Charlottesville Residents Slam City’s Response To Nazis In Raucous Meeting

Ed Mazza
Updated

A city council meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned chaotic on Monday night as residents complained about the city’s decision to allow a white supremacist march earlier this month as well as the police response to the resulting melee.

Many called on the council to resign or vowed to vote them out of office over the violence that shook Charlottesville on Aug. 11-12 as neo-Nazis, KKK members and others descended on the city as part of a “Unite the Right” rally.

A couple of residents climbed onto the council’s dais and unfurled a large banned that read “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS” as people chanted “resign” at the council.

Other residents complained that the police did a better job protecting the white supremacists than the city’s own citizens.

“I’m outraged!” said Tracy Saxon, per The New York Times. “I watched my people get beat and murdered. They let Nazis in here have freedom of speech and they protect them? And we can’t have freedom of speech?”

Police officers removed several people during the meeting.

At one point, the city council left the room, but returned when Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy changed the meeting into a forum allowing individuals to address the council.

Heather Heyer, 32, was killed and at least 19 others injured when a car slammed into a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville. James Alex Fields Jr., a 20-year-old white supremacist, has been charged with murder and several other counts.

Two state troopers were also killed in a helicopter crash while engaged in police operations related to the rally.

Residents said the violence could have been prevented by the city.

“You had multiple opportunities to intervene and you did not intervene one time. We told you exactly what you needed to do and you did nothing,” said one unidentified man, per NBC station WVIR.

“You all let this city down,” an unidentified woman said, per NBC News. “It’s absolutely disgraceful.”

City officials said they were forced to hold the rally due to a court order.

The council voted to cover the city’s controversial statues of two Confederate figures, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, with a black shroud out of mourning for Heyer, the Daily Progress newspaper reported.

The city is also seeking the removal of the Lee statue, and on Monday night asked its Board of Architectural Review to make a decision. The removal has been complicated by an ongoing lawsuit as well as state law.

“We’ve been told that if we take them down tonight, we’re going to be personally sued,” Bellamy was quoted as saying. “We will personally be held liable and charged with a class-six felony.”

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Four-year-old Leo Griffin leaves an Aug. 13 Chicago protest that mourned the victims of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the day before.
People hold signs at a vigil on Aug. 13 in Chicago for the victims in the previous day's violent clashes in Charlottesville.
People hold signs at a vigil on Aug. 13 in Chicago for the victims in the previous day's violent clashes in Charlottesville.
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People gather in downtown Chicago on Aug. 13 to protest the alt-right movement and to mourn Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville when a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters.
Demonstrators hold signs outside the White House on Aug. 13 during a vigil in response to the death of a counterprotester in the Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally.
Demonstrators hold signs outside the White House on Aug. 13 during a vigil in response to the death of a counterprotester in the Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally.
A woman writes "Silence is Compliance" with a chalk on the ground at Federal Plaza Square in Chicago during an Aug. 13 protest in response to the violence that erupted in Charlottesville.
A woman writes "Silence is Compliance" with a chalk on the ground at Federal Plaza Square in Chicago during an Aug. 13 protest in response to the violence that erupted in Charlottesville.
People gather in downtown Chicago on Aug. 13 to protest the alt-right movement.
People gather in downtown Chicago on Aug. 13 to protest the alt-right movement.
Ahead of President Donald Trump's visit, about 400 demonstrators on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower in New York attend a rally protesting the violence in Charlottesville.
Ahead of President Donald Trump's visit, about 400 demonstrators on Fifth Avenue near Trump Tower in New York attend a rally protesting the violence in Charlottesville.
A demonstrator holds a banner reading "Only 1 Side Love" during a protest at Federal Plaza Square in Chicago on Aug. 13.
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People gather in front of the White House to hold a vigil on Aug. 13, one day after the violence in Charlottesville.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.