Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer, Torch-Wielding Group Protests Removal Of Confederate Statue In Virginia

CHARLOTTSEVILLE, VA — A group of torch-wielding protesters gathered in Charlottseville Saturday night, chanting "You will not replace us," and "Russia is our friend," showing their opposition to the planned removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Among the protesters was Richard Spencer, the self-proclaimed White Nationalist and alt-right leader. Spencer tweeted about the event in great detail and posted a video to Periscope showing him addressing a crowd in Charlottseville earlier in the day. According to the Washington Post, Spencer held two rallies in Charlottseville, home to the University of Virginia, his alma-mater.

"We are here for two reasons, we are here to say no," Spencer said, addressing the group of people gathered at the first rally. "No more attacks on our heritage, on our identity, no more attacks on us as a people."

"But we are also here to say yes. Yes, this is who we are."

"This is the beginning of an awakening, an awakening here in Charlottseville, an awakening that is going around the entire world," he said.

"What brings us together is that we are white, we are a people, we will not be replaced," Spencer said, according to video of the rally posted to Periscope by Spencer.

According to the Charlottseville Daily Progess, the crowd gathered at night at around 9 p.m. in the city's Lee Park. Around 10 minutes later, police arrived on scene due to an altercation between protesters and the crowd dispersed with no further incidents.

The paper reports that the city council voted in April to sell the statue but a judge issued an injunction earlier this month that doesn't allow the city to do so for six months.

The removal of the statue and the rally Saturday drew attention from candidates running for governor in Virginia. Corey Stewart, a Republican running for governor who was the chairman of Donald Trump's Virginia campaign, is in favor of keeping the statue. According to the Washington Post, Stewart has said that he is not promoting symbols of hate but battling “political correctness” and “historical vandalism.” The Post also notes that there is no indication Stewart was among the protesters who gathered in Charlottseville Saturday.

"Get your white supremacist hate out of my hometown," Tom Perriello, a Democrat running for Governor, tweeted.

"This event involving torches at night in Lee Park was either profoundly ignorant or was designed to instill fear in our minority populations in a way that hearkens back to the days of the KKK," Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer said in a statement. "Either way, as mayor of this City, I want everyone to know this: we reject this intimidation. We are a Welcoming City, but such intolerance is not welcome here."

The local Charlottseville Republican Party also condemned the gathering in a statement issued to the Daily Progress.

"It has come to our attention that several out-of-town groups associated with white supremacy and identarian beliefs conducted events and protests in both Lee and Jackson Parks today. Neither Save the Robert E. Lee Statue nor The Monument Fund were in any way involved in these events and only learned of them though media reports," a statement posted to the Facebook page, "Save the Robert E. Lee Statue," read. "We remain committed to preserving the Robert E. Lee Monument in its park through the legal process in the courts because of its historic and artistic value. We soundly and completely reject racism, white supremacy, and any other identity based groups that preach division and hate no matter which side of the issue they happen to support."

Dallas police Sgt. Luis Rios III, left, keeps watch as members of the Dallas Peace Center protest in front of a statue of General Robert E. Lee at Lee Park Tuesday, June 30, 2015, in Dallas, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)