Thousands of anti-fascist and anti-racist protesters descended on the US capital to counter a far-right rally, one year after the first Unite the Right event in Charlottesville, Virginia turned deadly.
Counterdemonstrators far outnumbered the two dozen or so Unite the Right protesters who made their way on Sunday to Lafayette Park, located just outside the White House grounds. The gathering lasted briefly before its participants were driven away by white vans.
The small protest capped off a day of rallies and marches, organised by anti-racist and anti-fascist groups throughout Washington, DC.
In Freedom Plaza, rally-goers held a moment of silence to remember 32-year-old Heather Heyer who was killed one year ago when a far-right protester rammed his car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators. James Alex Fields Jr, the accused driver, has since been charged on several counts, including federal hate crimes.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamad ElBardicy reports.
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