White Nationalist Rally In Charlottesville: Unlawful Assembly Declared, Clashes Reported At Emancipation Park (UPDATES)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Officials have declared a local emergency and an unlawful assembly as white nationalists and counter-protestors opposing the "Unite the Right" rally are descending on Emancipation Park in Charlottesville Saturday. Demonstrators and counter-protesters already clashed on the eve of the rally when torch-wielding white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus before being met by an opposing group of at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson.

Already on Saturday, city officials say at least two people have been treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries after an altercation near Emancipation Park. Officials report that crowd at Emancipation Park is growing. A local emergency has been declared in Charlottesville and authorities have declared an unlawful assembly at the rally, ordering protesters to leave the area. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe also declared a state of emergency.

Reports from the scene indicate that several clashes have broken out between the groups and police say arrests are being made. The exact number and nature of the arrests is unclear.

University officials say one protester was arrested Friday night and charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Several people, including a university police officer, were injured. An "unlawful assembly" was declared by police when physical altercations between protesters began to escalate, officials said. The crowd that participated in Friday's march chanted slogans like "blood and soil" and "Jews will not replace us."

Both city and university officials condemned the march through the campus Friday night. Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer called it a "cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march." UVA President Teresa Sullivan said in a statement that "the intimidating and abhorrent behavior displayed by the alt-right protesters was wrong." Both officials also said they were committed to uphold the free speech rights of the protesters.

Saturday's rally is being organized by Jason Kessler, who applied for a permit to hold a demonstration at Emancipation Park, formerly known as Lee Park, which was the site of a similar rally in May. While the city granted Kessler a permit for the rally, it was granted under the condition that the rally be held in McIntire Park.

"There is no doubt that Mr. Kessler has a First Amendment right to hold a demonstration and to express his views," City Manager Maurice Jones said in a statement earlier this week. "Nor is there any doubt that we, as a City, have an obligation to protect those rights, the people who seek to exercise them, and the broader community in which they do.

"We have determined that we cannot do all of these things effectively if the demonstration is held in Emancipation Park."

In response to the city's decision, the ACLU of Virginia and the Rutherford Institute filed a federal lawsuit against the city on behalf of Kessler claiming his first and fourth amendment rights are being denied. The suit argues that the denial of the permit to hold the rally in Emancipation Park was due to both the city and the city manager's "disdain" for the views of Kessler and his supporters. The lawsuit also argues that the views of the counter-protesters are being favored over those of Kessler's. A judge ruled in favor of the ACLU, allowing the demonstration to take place in Emancipation Park. The city said it would abide by the judge's ruling.

Meanwhile, Airbnb has suspended the accounts of some users who plan to participate in the rally after the company was flagged to a thread on The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, where a number of members of the site said they are organizing to stay in and hold a series of after-parties at a number of Airbnb listings.

"In 2016 we established the Airbnb Community Commitment reflecting our belief that to make good on our mission of belonging, those who are members of the Airbnb community accept people regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age," Airbnb said in an emailed statement. "We asked all members of the Airbnb to affirmatively sign on to this commitment. When through our background check processes or from input of our community we identify and determine that there are those who would be pursuing behavior on the platform that would be antithetical to the Airbnb Community Commitment, we seek to take appropriate action including, as in this case, removing them from the platform."

The Daily Progress in Charlottesville reported that rallies had been approved for Justice Park and McGuffey Park for opponents of the rally.

Police chief Al Thomas said in a statement that having the rally in McIntire park is safer because the park is large enough to accommodate the size of the anticipated crowd and officials will be able to implement the security precautions necessary for an event this size. Thomas also urged both protesters and counter-protesters to to "publicly commit to a nonviolent assembly," saying that such an action could influence the small minority that may seek to jeopardize public safety. Police said they have assistance from the Virginia State Police, the Albermarle County Police and the University of Virginia Police Department.

Emancipation Park is home to the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The Charlottesville 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. A group of torch-wielding protesters led by alt-right activist Richard Spencer marched through the park in May to protest the statue's removal. Spencer posted on social media that he plans to attend Saturday's rally.

Another rally in July protesting the city's decision to sell the statue saw about 50 Ku Klux Klan members show up, though they were outnumbered by the more than 1,000 counter-protesters. The KKK members were escorted by police through Justice Park, while protesters shouted chants such as "When black lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” according to The Daily Progress.

The Facebook event listing for the rally says the location of the rally is Lee Park or Emancipation Park. The event listing says that the purpose of the rally is "to unify the right-wing against a totalitarian Communist crackdown, to speak out against displacement level immigration policies in the United States and Europe, and to affirm the right of Southerners and white people to organize for their interests just like any other group is able to do, free of persecution."

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued the following statement regarding the planned rally.

The issue of free speech, particularly as it contains to conservative groups, has come to the forefront recently. Violent protests have broken out at college campuses when conservative speakers have been scheduled to speak at universities, including at campuses like Berkeley University and NYU.

Photo: Officers clash with counter protestors after the Ku Klux Klan staged a protest on July 8, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images News/Getty Images