{"slug":"trump-charlottesville-anti-semitism","title":"Charlottesville and Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories: Trump's Relationship with White Nationalism","date":"2017-08-11","lastUpdated":"2020-11-03","description":"Beyond the 'very fine people on both sides' remarks, Trump's first term was marked by his relationship with white nationalist and anti-Semitic movements: sharing memes created by neo-Nazi accounts, retweeting white nationalists, using the phrase 'invasion' to describe Hispanic migration (echoed in mass shooting manifestos), and refusing to clearly condemn white nationalist violence. The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where marchers chanted 'Jews will not replace us,' was the opening moment of a pattern.","summary":"Trump's failure to clearly condemn the Charlottesville marchers — who carried torches and chanted neo-Nazi slogans — was part of a documented pattern of engagement with white nationalist and anti-Semitic content. Trump retweeted accounts associated with white nationalism, used the word 'invasion' for Hispanic immigration (a term that appeared in the El Paso mass shooter's manifesto), shared memes created by neo-Nazi accounts, and refused to commit to accepting election results — all while white nationalist and anti-Semitic incidents rose sharply.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"extreme","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-charlottesville-white-nationalists.html","title":"Trump's Remarks on Charlottesville Were 'Very Fine People on Both Sides'","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.adl.org/resources/report/murder-and-extremism-united-states-2019","title":"Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2019","publisher":"Anti-Defamation League"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/04/el-paso-shooting-manifesto-immigration/","title":"El Paso shooter's manifesto echoed Trump rhetoric","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/press-releases/2020-hate-crime-statistics","title":"FBI 2020 Hate Crime Statistics","publisher":"Federal Bureau of Investigation"},{"url":"https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map","title":"Hate Group Map","publisher":"Southern Poverty Law Center"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["white-nationalism","Charlottesville","anti-Semitism","hate-crimes","first-term","incitement","very-fine-people"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-08-11","title":"Unite the Right torch march","summary":"Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and far-right activists march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville carrying torches and chanting 'Jews will not replace us,' 'Blood and soil,' and other neo-Nazi slogans. Counter-protesters confront them."},{"date":"2017-08-12","title":"Heather Heyer killed; Trump blames 'many sides'","summary":"A car driven by neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. plows into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring 19 others. Trump's initial statement condemns 'this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides.' The 'many sides' framing is immediately criticized for false equivalence."},{"date":"2017-08-15","title":"'Very fine people on both sides'","summary":"At a press conference, Trump expands on his remarks, saying there were 'very fine people on both sides' and blaming the conflict on both the white nationalist marchers and the anti-racist protesters. Republican and Democratic leaders condemn the statement; CEOs resign from Trump's business councils en masse."},{"date":"2017-12-09","title":"Trump retweets far-right British account","summary":"Trump retweets three unverified videos from the account of Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First — a far-right fringe group. British Prime Minister Theresa May publicly condemns the retweet; Trump attacks May by name on Twitter."},{"date":"2019-08-03","title":"El Paso shooting — manifesto echoes Trump rhetoric","summary":"Patrick Crusius kills 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, targeting Hispanics. His manifesto describes a 'Hispanic invasion of Texas' — a phrase directly echoing Trump's characterization of Central American migration. Trump calls for responses to the shooting but rejects any connection to his rhetoric."},{"date":"2020-09-29","title":"Proud Boys: 'stand back and stand by'","summary":"At the first 2020 presidential debate, moderator Chris Wallace asks Trump to condemn white supremacists. Trump asks for a specific group name. When Biden mentions the Proud Boys, Trump says: 'Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.' The Proud Boys immediately adopt the phrase, create merchandise with it, and describe it as an endorsement."}],"location":{"name":"Charlottesville, VA / nationwide","lat":38.0293,"lng":-78.4767},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination","article":"Article 4","provision":"States shall condemn all propaganda and organizations based on ideas of racial superiority; public officials' amplification or normalization of white nationalist rhetoric violates this obligation"},{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 20","provision":"Advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence shall be prohibited"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Heather Heyer (killed at Charlottesville); Jewish Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans subjected to increased hate crimes; communities targeted by domestic terrorism by perpetrators citing Trump's rhetoric","structuredVictims":[{"name":"Heather Heyer","group":"Anti-racist protester","status":"Killed by car attack at Charlottesville, August 12, 2017"}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-11-03","summary":"Updated with full first-term record on white nationalism and hate crimes."}]}}