While white supremacists rallied in Washington over the weekend, they stayed clear of Charlottesville, where a thousand police officers and several helicopters were on patrol. Their presence raised questions about how far a free society should go to be safe. Sandy Hausman has that story.
Downtown Charlottesville felt like a crime scene with dozens of uniformed police standing on corners, patrolling the mall and surrounding a statue of Robert E. Lee. Most side streets were blocked by squad cars with flashing lights, dump trucks and buses. People who came to dine, drink or stroll could enter at only two places, and their bags were searched for anything that could be used as a weapon.
"You can't have aerosol cans," a police officer told one middle-aged woman, removing a purse-sized container of Lysol spray.
The strong police presence was disconcerting to area esidents Greg Schmidt Goering and Julie Convisser.
“These guys are doing the best job they can do under pretty hard circumstances given what happened last year, but it’s a little odd,” said Julie Convisser.
Her companion, Greg Schmid-Goering, added, “I know their intentions are to be here to keep the peace and keep us safe and secure, and I appreciate that. On the other hand, it feels a little overwhelming.”
Still, about 800 people showed up – including busker Bill Adams:
He serenaded Selima Dougadir, Rachel Rambo, Dorothy Carney and Julie Briskey.
“We came down to support the town and see our friends,” said Selima Dougadir as she said with friends Rachel Rambo and Dorothy Carney. They came to support local business, and Carney said she hoped to speed recovery from last year’s trauma.
“We wanted to be in solidarity and support and not be frightened,” Julie Briskey added.
Security was also tight at the University of Virginia, which hosted what it billed as a morning of reflection and renewal.
President James Ryan thanked students who had stood up to white supremacists during their torch lit march across campus.
“When the neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched towards the Jefferson statue last year, they were met by a group of intrepid individuals who had gathered around the statue." he recalled. "It was a remarkable moment of courage and bravery by our students and community members who stood fast.”
And he assured them that while tactics might differ, the university stands with them in opposition to white supremacy.
“Just like family members, we aren’t always going to like each other, and we’re going to get annoyed -- exasperated, or maybe that’s just my family...white supremacy.”
But not everyone was convinced. Several hundred people rallied outside the rotunda to protest the university’s failure to stop the tiki-torch march. Among them, Sophie Schechtman.
“The University of Virginia’s inaction that night emboldened white supremacists to be even more violent the next day on August 12th.
That’s when a car crashed into three dozen people including Schechtman. Both of her legs were broken. Now she and others want the university to issue a no trespass order to all identified Unite the Right participants for life and pay the medical bills of those students who were hurt.
The rally also drew a surprising number of faculty members – among them historian John Mason and anthropologist Ira Bashkow.
“We know that enslaved people to a large extent built this university, maintained this university after it was constructed,” said Mason. “That kind of structured white supremacy is deep in our history, and we need to remember that at the University of Virginia,” Mason explained.
Bashkow said he didn’t agree with everything protesters said, but he “wanted to support those people who are taking a stand against white supremacy and trying to make this a more just community.”
Protest leaders were dismayed by extensive security fencing in the area and the large police presence, so they led the group on a two hour march through surrounding neighborhoods before ending the evening at the statue of Robert E. Lee downtown.