This weekend, as militant leftists took to the streets to attack the Unite the Right Rally, downtown Charlottesville, Virginia turned to a battlefield, and Democrats, Republicans, and mainstream media alike refused to acknowledge left-wing involvement in what has been called ‘one of the darkest days in Virginia’s history.’ Following an altercation between ‘Alt-Right’ and left wing, ‘AntiFa’ demonstrators the night before, the Unite the Right Rally was a pressure cooker waiting to burst. The ACLU has reported that police were given orders to ‘stand down,’ effectively allowing the groups to collide in the center of Lee Park, after the event was canceled and declared an unlawful assembly amidst a state of emergency declared by Governor Terry McAuliffe.
As has been reported by Millie Weaver of Info Wars, and Doug McKelway of Fox News, left-wing counter-protesters arrived en masse on buses, ready for chaos. Upon exiting the buses, AntiFa (short for Anti-Fascist Coalition) members began unloading large chests of bottles and balloons filled with cement, urine, feces, and even tear gas, throwing them at right-wing demonstrators and police. What’s more, is after the protest was deemed an unlawful assembly, police in riot gear stood by as members of right-wing groups were corralled directly in to AntiFa members while leaving Lee Park. As the two sides collided, all hell broke loose, kicking off a full-scale riot which resulted in the brutal murder of one counter protester, countless injuries throughout the city, and even a helicopter crash, killing two Virginia State Troopers after patrolling the skies above Charlottesville.
In the immediate aftermath of the event, politicians rushed to condemn right-wing protestors, which included white supremacist elements, leaving the actions of the radical left out of their statements entirely. After condemning violence from ‘many sides’ President Trump was attacked for pointing out the obvious; the riot took place as a result of the combined actions of both left and right wing extremists. Saturday evening, Governor McAuliffe (flanked by radical Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy, whose t-shirt made his social and political views well known) took to the podium to address the violence, leaving the left-wing entirely out of the equation, followed by Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas, who stated, ‘outsiders do not tell our story,’ inserting an oddly nativist tone into the narrative. Although it should be noted, that Monday evening, Chief Thomas admitted that violence was perpetrated by ‘mutually combating’ groups.
Even a full day later, with video and first-hand accounts readily available, politicians, including Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia Ed Gillespie, refused to implicate left-wing counter-protestors in the violence. Republicans and Democrats nationwide followed suit, once again giving AntiFa, a group responsible for millions of dollars in damage throughout the United States, a free pass.
With continued scrutiny being applied to President Trump’s initial statements, he has refused to budge, maintaining that two sides of ‘very bad people’ were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville. Politics Elections reached out to several elected officials and candidates with ties to Virginia and the Charlottesville area, and received a number of responses.
In a stark contrast to Establishment politicians, Shak Hill, a Republican candidate for House of Representatives in Virginia’s 10th District was quick to respond with sharp criticism of both leftist attacks and double standards. Hill stated, ‘I think we have a problem in America where the media glosses over and makes excuses for crimes, violence, and actions of unhinged leftists. Hillary Clinton got away with many crimes, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio was convicted of a crime. President Trump is under investigation, but the media turns a blind eye to Loretta Lynch. AntiFa can do all sorts of things to police and public property, but nobody says anything. There is clearly a double standard.’
After reaching Kenny Jackson, Independent candidate for Charlottesville City Council for comment, Jackson replied, ‘The President is correct. I have gone up against AntiFa, SURJ, and BLM in front of Charlottesville City Hall, and they are just as violent as the Alt-Right.’
Politics Elections also reached out to Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Corey Stewart, the conservative firebrand challenging Tim Kaine for US Senate. When questioned on Saturday’s events and the response of establishment politicians, Stewart replied, ‘I warned this would happen. The Democrats will never condemn the violent left because the violent left backs the Democrats. Democrats support the violent censorship perpetrated by leftist groups like AntiFa and BLM.’
As political violence spreads nationwide, and militant leftists continue growing more and more emboldened, our nation’s First Constitutional Amendment falls into jeopardy. With politicians on both sides of the aisle ducking condemnation of violent, militant leftists, their silence becomes seen as consent. American Patriots cannot stand idly by as our rights to free speech are subverted in the name of protection from ‘hate speech’ through some sort of twisted street justice.
