Culture

A Charlottesville Crowd Ejected A Nazi/White Supremacist Leader From His Press Conference While Chanting ‘Murderer!’

Tensions remain at a boiling point in Charlottesville, Virginia after white supremacists/Nazis descended upon the University of Virginia this weekend. The situation turned violent when James Alex Fields Jr. allegedly murdered Heather Hayer while plowing a car into counterprotesters. On Sunday, the leader of the Unite the Right march, Jason Kessler, attempted to hold a press conference and was greeted by an angry crowd who chanted, “Shame!” Reporter Henry Graff of the local NBC affiliate tweeted the above clip.

More incredible videos follow. The Daily Beast reports that Kessler soon fled through the streets while seeking aid from the same law enforcement officers who he blamed for Saturday’s violence. Blake Montgomery of Buzzfeed News tweeted footage of the chaos from another viewpoint, which showed people shouting “Murderer!” before chasing Kessler away from the scene.

Here’s a frantic Kessler finding himself unable to reach his vehicle and being escorted to safety by cops. (Clip courtesy of Brook Silva-Braga.)

Kessler is somewhat notorious online, and he and his followers have also organized a Boston “free speech” rally that’s scheduled for August 19. Will this event still take place? Who knows. America could be in for another weekend full of clashes between his group and counterprotesters, along with law enforcement officers tasked with maintaining the peace.

In the meantime, one of Kessler’s followers is absolutely mortified that he’s become the viral face of Nazism in America. Peter Cvjetanovic, seen on the far right of the below photo, now regrets traveling from Reno, Nevada to the white supremacy gathering in Charlottesville. Cvjetanovic insisted to the local CBS affiliate that he’s not an “angry racist,” just a white nationalist, okay?

“I did not expect the photo to be shared as much as it was. I understand the photo has a very negative connotation. But I hope that the people sharing the photo are willing to listen that I’m not the angry racist they see in that photo. As a white nationalist, I care for all people. We all deserve a future for our children and for our culture. White nationalists aren’t all hateful; we just want to preserve what we have.”

Kind of amazing. Really sad, too.

(Via KTVN & Daily Beast)