A handful of racists snuck back to Charlottesville under the cover of night for another 'protest'
They're back with the same mission, and far, far fewer numbers.
A group of white nationalists, led by Richard Spencer (a man who was punched in the face twice on President Trump's Inauguration Day) marched in Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday night with torches in hand toward the statue of Robert E. Lee.
Spencer dubbed the small gathering "Charlottesville 3.0" in a tweet, referencing earlier protests in May and August, the latter of which led to the death of one anti-hate protester Heather Heyer.
“It was a planned flash mob,” Spencer told The Washington Post. “It was a great success. We’ve been planning this for a long time.”
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It's unclear how Spencer categorizes success. It seems that he, at least, wanted the affair to be seen as a peaceful one. But the turnout was very small and the demonstration, staged under the cover of night and lit only by a handful of cheap torches, was brief.
“We wanted to prove that we came in peace in May, we came in peace in August, and we come again in peace,” Spencer said.
"Russia is our friend" and "The South will rise again" were among some of the chants the group shouted out into the empty night.
And another, the official anthem of angry white supremacists everywhere: "You will not replace us!"
Clearly not. But they will be mocked and scorned on Twitter:
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The mayor of Charlottesville Mike Signer denounced the march in a tweet:
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The size of Saturday's "flash mob" was much smaller than previous gatherings. There were about 50 or so attendees, according to The Daily Beast.
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And it wasn't that long of a party. The group reportedly arrived at Emancipation Park at about 7:45 p.m. and left 15 minutes later, WVIR-TV reported according to WaPo. Police arrived 30 minutes after the group left.
“No disorders occurred during this rally,” a police officer told The New York Times.
But members of the alt-right did take to Signer's Twitter mentions:
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A separate group consisting of local residents gathered at Emancipation Park as well and marched to University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan's house, where they were stopped by police, The Daily Beast reported.
Spencer, in his speech at the rally, promised to return.
A Charlottesville spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Spencer's assembly was protected under the First Amendment.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
