{"slug":"charlottesville-very-fine-people","title":"Charlottesville: Trump's Defense of White Supremacists After the Unite the Right Rally","date":"2017-08-12","lastUpdated":"2017-08-12","description":"Following the neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — during which a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others — Trump twice refused to unambiguously condemn white supremacists by name, saying there were 'very fine people on both sides' and blaming 'many sides' for the violence.","summary":"The August 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally drew hundreds of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and white nationalists to Charlottesville. A rally participant drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer. Trump initially blamed 'many sides,' then under pressure condemned white supremacists, then two days later reinstated the 'very fine people on both sides' framing in a combative press conference. The statements were widely understood as a signal of presidential sympathy to white nationalist movements.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/us/politics/trump-condemns-charlottesville-violence.html","title":"Trump Condemns 'All That Hate Stands For' After Charlottesville","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-charlottesville.html","title":"Trump Gives White Supremacists an Unequivocal Boost","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/08/14/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-organizer-says-he-was-inspired-by-trump/","title":"Charlottesville white nationalist rally organizer says he was inspired by Trump","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-racial-injustice-charlottesville-3af2d5e7d2b3442784a7d41c9ac8d1c4","title":"Trump's Charlottesville response continues to haunt him","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/charlottesville-one-year-later-civil-rights","title":"Charlottesville, One Year Later: The Ongoing Fight for Civil Rights","publisher":"ACLU"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Charlottesville","white-supremacy","racial-violence","first-term","incitement","Heather-Heyer","Unite-the-Right"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-08-11","title":"Unite the Right rally torchlight march","summary":"Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klan members march with tiki torches at the University of Virginia, chanting 'You will not replace us' and 'Jews will not replace us.' Three people are assaulted."},{"date":"2017-08-12","title":"Vehicle attack kills Heather Heyer","summary":"James Alex Fields Jr., a neo-Nazi from Ohio, drives his car at high speed into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others. Earlier in the day, white nationalists attack counter-protesters with clubs and chemical sprays."},{"date":"2017-08-12","title":"Trump blames 'many sides'","summary":"Trump makes his initial statement: 'We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides. On many sides.' He does not name white supremacists, neo-Nazis, or the Ku Klux Klan. Republican senators and Democrats condemn the statement as inadequate."},{"date":"2017-08-14","title":"Trump reads prepared condemnation of white supremacists","summary":"Under pressure from staff, family, and congressional leaders, Trump reads a prepared statement: 'Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups.' White nationalist leaders note that the statement appeared clearly to be read reluctantly from a script."},{"date":"2017-08-15","title":"Trump reinstates 'both sides' at combative press conference","summary":"At an impromptu press conference at Trump Tower, Trump goes off script and reinstates the 'many sides' framing, saying 'I think there is blame on both sides' and 'you also had people that were very fine people on both sides.' He also defends Confederate monuments and compares Robert E. Lee to George Washington."},{"date":"2017-08-15","title":"White nationalist leaders celebrate","summary":"Andrew Anglin of the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer writes that Trump gave 'No condemnation at all.' Richard Spencer says 'Trump's statement was fair and down to earth.' Multiple white nationalist leaders describe the August 15 press conference as a victory."},{"date":"2017-08-16","title":"Business council resignations cascade","summary":"Within 24 hours of Trump's August 15 press conference, the CEOs of Merck, Under Armour, Intel, and Campbell Soup resign from the American Manufacturing Council; Trump dissolves the council rather than face further resignations."},{"date":"2019-07-01","title":"Trump again fails to condemn white nationalism when asked","summary":"In a press conference, asked directly whether white nationalism is a growing threat, Trump says: 'I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.' The question was raised in the context of a mass shooting at a New Zealand mosque."}],"location":{"name":"Charlottesville, Virginia","lat":38.0293,"lng":-78.4767},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 20","provision":"Prohibition on advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence — presidential endorsement of violent white supremacist groups in the wake of a lethal attack"},{"statute":"International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination","article":"Article 4","provision":"States must condemn propaganda based on racial superiority or hatred; public officials must not promote or incite racial discrimination"}],"iccRelevance":false,"civilianCasualties":1,"victims":"Heather Heyer, 32, killed when James Fields drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters; 35 others injured in the vehicle attack; 19 others injured in street violence during the rally","structuredVictims":[{"name":"Heather Heyer","group":"Counter-protester killed in vehicle attack","status":"Deceased"},{"group":"Counter-protesters injured in vehicle attack","status":"35 injured","count":35}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-07-01","summary":"Updated with Trump's 2019 failure to condemn white nationalism."}]}}