Woburn Police Officer On Leave Over Possible Ties To 2017 Charlottesville Rally

WOBURN, MA — A Woburn police officer is on paid administrative leave as the department investigates his possible ties to the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., according to an announcement on Thursday.

Police Chief Robert Rufo Jr. announced the move in a statement with Mayor Scott Galvin. They said Officer John Donnelly allegedly participated in and helped plan the Charlottesville rally.

Their statement came hours before HuffPost published a report looking into Donnelly, his background, and various links to the Charlottesville rally.

In the article, reporter Christopher Mathias said HuffPost reached out to Woburn Police shortly before the announcement from Rufo and Galvin this week to ask about Donnelly's status with the department and his role in the Charlottesville events five years ago.

Rufo and Galvin did not address the then upcoming HuffPost report in their statement on Thursday. They said Rufo promptly put Donnelly on paid administrative leave after learning of his possible involvement in the Unite the Right rally, though, pending the results of an internal investigation.

Donnelly was a Woburn reserve officer at the time of the rally, according to Rufo and Galvin.

The Charlottesville rally took place over two days in August, 2017. It saw members of white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups gather in response to plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

They were met with counterprotestors and clashes soon broke out. One person died and more than a dozen more were injured when a man rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotestors. Two state troopers also died when a helicopter monitoring the unrest crashed.

Still more were injured elsewhere in Charlottesville during the events.

Galvin called the Charlottesville rally a “dark moment in our history” in recent comments.

"The City of Woburn is taking these allegations seriously by investigating the incident thoroughly,” he continued.

Galvin said he will move to fire Donnelly if allegations prove true.

Beyond possible termination, Rufo said the Woburn Police will ask the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to decertify Donnelly if the investigation sustains current allegations, preventing Donnelly from serving in other law enforcement roles in Massachusetts.

Update: This article has been updated to acknowledge a report from HuffPost that focuses on John Donnelly and possible ties to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.