CHARLOTTESVILLE • Washington braced itself for a white nationalist rally organised to coincide with the anniversary of last year's racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The "Unite the Right 2" event was scheduled to take place at 5.30pm local time yesterday (5.30am Singapore time today) in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House. Several counter-protests have also received permission to gather nearby.
"I don't know exactly what will happen, but it probably will not be good," tweeted Mr Richard Spencer, a leader of the so-called "alt-right" movement, who said he would be staying away from the rally.
All firearms will be banned from the Washington protest site, including those legally carried by licensed gun owners, officials said.
The authorities kept an enormous police presence to keep both sides apart and avoid the street brawls that broke out last year in downtown Charlottesville. A local woman, Ms Heather Heyer, was killed when an Ohio man, James Fields, drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
At the time, United States President Donald Trump said there were "very fine people" on both sides, spurring criticism from across the political divide that he was equating the counter-protesters with the rally attendees, who included neo-Nazis and other white supremacists.
Last Saturday, Mr Trump condemned "all types of racism" in a Twitter post marking the anniversary. His daughter, Ms Ivanka Trump, a White House aide, was more explicit in her condemnation of the "ugly display of hatred, racism, bigotry & violence" last year in Charlottesville.
"There is no place for white supremacy, racism and neo-nazism in our great country," she tweeted.
In Washington last Saturday evening, nearly two dozen police officers patrolled Lafayette Square. Members of the Washington chapter of Black Lives Matter were sprinkled through the park, seemingly standing on guard.
Organisers of #OccupyLafayettePark, a civil rights group that holds nightly protests in the square, held up posters reading "Love America, Hate Trump" and "Defend The District From White Supremacy" just a few steps away from the White House.
In Charlottesville, hundreds of police officers maintained a security perimeter around the normally bustling downtown district last Saturday. Vehicular traffic was barred from an area of more than 15 city blocks, while pedestrians were allowed access at two checkpoints where officers examined bags for weapons.
Hundreds of students and activists took to the streets on Saturday as a rally planned for the University of Virginia campus turned into a march through the city.
Many of the protesters directed their anger at the heavy police presence, with chants like "cops and Klan go hand in hand", a year after police were harshly criticised for their failure to prevent the violence.
Earlier on Saturday, a group of anti-fascist protesters walked through the downtown area, holding signs with messages like "Good Night White Pride".
Activist Grace Aheron, 27, donned a Black Lives Matter T-shirt and joined hundreds of Charlottesville residents who gathered at Booker T. Washington Park yesterday morning to mark the anniversary of last year's bloodshed.
"We want to claim our streets back, claim our public space back, claim our city back," she said.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
