The city of Charlottesville is cooking up a plan to block torch-wielding hatemongers from returning after a third and unannounced visit by white nationalist Richard Spencer and his followers.
Authorities in the Virginia college town said they’re forming a task force to see if they can change local and state policies to block future marches of hatred.
“It is unconscionable that Mr. Spencer and his allies would return to our city to intimidate and spread fear, especially after their morally reprehensible invasion of the city on Aug. 12,” city officials said in a statement outlining their plan.
The August Unite the Right attracted hundreds of white supremacists from at least 35 states, according to the Anti-Defamation League. A counterprotester, Heather Heyer, 32, was killed there by a car driven by a neo-Nazi from Ohio.
News of the task force came about 24 hours after about 40 white nationalists gathered for 10 minutes at Emancipation Park, where the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stands. The monument has been shrouded by a black tarp since September.
The tiki-torch carrying crowd then boarded a bus and slipped out of the city.
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer wants the hate groups prohibited from gathering in the city.
“The so-called ‘alt-right’ believes intimidation and intolerance will stop us from our work. They could not be more wrong,” Signer said in a statement. “We must marshal all our resources, legal and otherwise, to protect our public and support our values of inclusion and diversity in the future.”
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe tweeted: “We continue to oppose these racists and their message of hate.”
The city is expected to produce a sweeping legislative package giving municipalities more authority over “the conditions under which a group or organization can hold a rally or demonstration” — and the ability to remove monuments, which is not allowed under state code.
The city said it also will explore banning some firearms in public places before the end of the year.
With News Wire Services
