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Charlottesville: 'Very Fine People on Both Sides' After Neo-Nazi Violence

The Unite the Right rally was organized by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, included marchers with torches chanting 'Jews will not replace us' on the night of August 11, and included violence against counter-protesters on August 12 before James Alex Fields Jr. drove into the crowd. Fields was later convicted of first-degree murder and federal hate crimes. Trump's August 15 press conference response defended those attending the rally as 'people who were very fine people' who were there because they 'protested the taking down of a statue' of Robert E. Lee, and drew a moral equivalence between the white supremacist rally and counter-protesters. Republican leaders including Paul Ryan, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and both former President Bushes publicly criticized the 'both sides' framing.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Charlottesville, VA
Category
Civil Rights
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
4 cited
Stable ID
trump-charlottesville-very-fine-people-2017
Victims
Heather Heyer, killed August 12, 2017; 19 people injured in the vehicle attack; counter-protesters assaulted throughout the day; Jewish and minority communities threatened by the march
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; declined to unequivocally condemn white supremacist violence; drew moral equivalence between white supremacist rally and counter-protesters; defended attendees as 'very fine people'— White House
  • James Alex Fields Jr., Driver; convicted of first-degree murder and federal hate crimes for Charlottesville vehicle attack— Unite the Right rally participant

Key points

  • On August 11, the night before the main rally, attendees marched through the University of Virginia campus carrying torches and chanting 'Jews will not replace us' and 'Blood and soil' (a Nazi slogan) — Trump did not specifically address the torch march or the Nazi chants in any of his three statements
  • Trump's initial August 12 statement condemned 'this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides, on many sides' — the repeated phrase 'on many sides' was interpreted as drawing equivalence between the white supremacist marchers and counter-protesters; there was immediate bipartisan criticism
  • Under pressure, Trump gave a prepared statement on August 14 naming white supremacists, the KKK, and neo-Nazis and calling them 'repugnant'; he appeared to be reading reluctantly from a prepared text
  • On August 15, Trump gave an unscripted press conference in which he reverted: 'You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides... I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists.' He also said there was 'blame on both sides'
  • Trump defended the rally attendees as 'protestors' who came to 'protest the taking down of a statue of — a very, very important statue — of Robert E. Lee.' Historians and civil rights groups noted the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville was erected in 1924 — during the Jim Crow era — as part of a wave of Confederate monument construction
  • James Alex Fields Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder and federal hate crimes in 2018 and 2019; he was sentenced to life in federal prison plus 419 years on federal charges

Overview

On August 12, 2017, a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of people in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing Heather Heyer. She was 32 years old.

Three days later, the President of the United States held a press conference in which he said there were "very fine people on both sides" of the rally and placed equal blame on the neo-Nazis who had marched and the people who had gathered to oppose them.

The Rally

The Unite the Right rally was organized by self-identified white nationalists and neo-Nazis. On the night before the main event, attendees marched through the University of Virginia campus with torches, surrounding Black and Jewish students and faculty, chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "Blood and soil" — a slogan directly from Nazi ideology.

There was no ambiguity about what kind of event this was.

The Three Statements

Trump gave three statements on Charlottesville. His first, on August 12, condemned "violence on many sides." His second, on August 14, named white supremacists, the KKK, and neo-Nazis under visible duress. His third, on August 15, was the one he chose unprompted: "very fine people on both sides," defending attendees as people who "protested the taking down of a statue."

Bipartisan criticism followed all three, but the third — the one he chose — was the one that reflected his actual assessment.

The Statues

Trump defended the rally attendees as people who had come to protest the "taking down of a very, very important statue" of Robert E. Lee. The Charlottesville Lee statue was erected in 1924 — part of a wave of Confederate monument construction during the Jim Crow era, when the monuments functioned as symbols of white supremacy rather than historical commemoration. Historians documented this context. It was not contested.

Fields was later sentenced to life in prison. Heyer was killed for being present.

Update log

  1. Documented from August 15 press conference.

Sequence of events

  1. Torch march: 'Jews will not replace us'

    White supremacist and neo-Nazi groups march through the University of Virginia campus with torches, chanting 'Jews will not replace us' and Nazi slogans. Counter-protesters are surrounded and pepper-sprayed.

  2. Rally violence; Heather Heyer killed

    The Unite the Right rally leads to street violence. James Alex Fields Jr. drives his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Trump condemns 'violence on many sides.'

  3. Trump reads prepared statement naming white supremacists

    Under bipartisan pressure, Trump reads a prepared statement naming the KKK, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis as repugnant. He appears to be reading reluctantly.

  4. Trump reverts: 'very fine people on both sides'

    At an unscripted press conference, Trump says there were 'very fine people on both sides' of the Charlottesville rally and repeats that 'blame on both sides' is appropriate. Republican leaders including Paul Ryan, John McCain, and both former Presidents Bush publicly criticize the statement.

  5. Fields convicted of federal hate crimes — sentenced to life

    James Alex Fields Jr. is sentenced to life in federal prison plus 419 years on federal hate crime charges. The judge finds the attack was motivated by racial animus.

Sources

  1. Trump Defends Initial Charlottesville Response, Repeats There Were 'Very Fine People on Both Sides' — The New York Times
  2. Trump again blames 'both sides' in Charlottesville after backing off 'many sides' comments — The Washington Post
  3. Trump defends 'fine people' Charlottesville comments — The Associated Press
  4. James Fields Sentenced to Life in Prison for Charlottesville Attack — The New York Times

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