C'VILLE CITIZEN
Government of the people, by the people and for the people
A Video Based Community Web News Magazine Featuring People, Events and Issues in and around Charlottesville
Editor: Bob Fenwick
AUGUST 12, 2017: THE DAY HATE AND CHAOS CAME TO CHARLOTTESVILLE
IF YOU'RE NOT OUTRAGED, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION! Heather Heyer, August 12, 2017
Killed or seriously injured:
Heather Heyer
Lt. Jay Cullen
Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates
DeAndre Harris
Tyler MacGill
Plus more than 50 other citizens injured on August 12 or August 11 at The University of Virginia. We must remember this situation is first and foremost about people, our friends and neighbors, and our city.
Pursuant to an order by Judge Glen Conrad, United States District Court, Western District, dated August 11, 2017, the City of Charlottesville was 'enjoined from revoking the plaintiff's (Jason Kessler's) permit to conduct a demonstration at Emancipation Park'. (We were ordered to allow the demonstration to take place in Emancipation Park.)
What follows are links to video I shot on August 12 starting around 10:30 AM from Court Square where the counter protesters were staging, to Market St. just in front of the park, a short clip after the event at Water St. and 2d St. and a few minutes at the intersection of Water St. and Fourth St. where the terror attack occurred. The total video is about 36 minutes, broken into 5 parts.
This entire incident was not about Freedom of Speech. It was about Public Safety.
KESSLER RALLY 1 https://youtu.be/qAcAKNBos-4
KESSLER RALLY 2 https://youtu.be/yHu82SOmXeo
KESSLER RALLY 3 https://youtu.be/K6W0QvfsaL0
KESSLER RALLY 4 https://youtu.be/mN7hJTmwQJA
KESSLER RALLY 5 https://youtu.be/DiO2ZiUPC2c
And here is a link to a Newsweek article on who is behind these white supremacy, fascist, communist and KKK rallies.
OBSERVATIONS AND THOUGHTS
Most people in our community and around the state and country have no idea of the sinister threat that is facing us. The groups that invaded our city on August 12 are very well funded (see the Newsweek link above), have been training for years (while most of us considered them goofballs and silly), their strategy was to show up, provoke those of us who objected to an outside force threatening the people and property of our city, and wait for us to react. We reacted. When we engaged they were ready with their video cams and smart phones and recorded and edited each reaction to illustrate their innocence and our violence. They were heavily armed (but not compared to the local police, the state police or the National Guard), protected by home made shields, riot helmets, heavy boots and every 'soldier' carried a flag on a stick which became a lance upon command of their officers. They responded to military commands for advance and retreat and engagement. This event was in large part a recruiting effort and their biggest mistake was they started too soon. The invading group had agreed to come into the park at noon, that's when their 'permit' was for. They came sometime after 10. By the time I got there a little after 10:30 they had already broken through a line of clergy and were arrayed within the park and projectiles were being hurled from one side to the other.
There is more than ample evidence that Kessler's group was intent on inflicting physical violence from the blog posts that have been publicly posted. A comparatively mild blog string is linked below. There were even overt threats against public and private property ('we're going to burn the city down') most of which I dismissed as mere bluster and BS.
'The planning was defective or non existent'. It takes about 6 weeks of planning to prepare for a situation like this. We had a previous encounter with the KKK but that was dwarfed by what was anticipated The two strongest criticisms from the KKK event were city police being too noticeable and the deployment of tear gas. We did neither this time. This time the strongest criticisms are the police should have been more visible and they should have engaged sooner (which would have resulted in the deployment of tear gas). We critiqued the KKK rally and consulted with cities around the country on what to do and how to do it. Surrounding jurisdictions, public institutions like the University Hospital, First Responders from around the state, state and federal agencies all were involved. The number of involved entities is much higher than these few just mentioned.
'The city and the police should have known the scope and intent of the threat.' This was not a straight line threat. It grew from day one and each day, almost from hour to hour and we would respond accordingly as the threat morphed as threats from Richard Spencer, David Duke, militias from across the country added to the uncertainty. By their nature these quasi military outfits engage in political propaganda, purposefully sowing false information to thwart planning and panic and confuse citizens. They know what will push the buttons of the far Left (usually the use of police or the cost of citizen protection) and they push all of them.
The Alt Right (it's easier to use that designation than to continually list all the organizations and militias that showed up) has lawyers at the top echelons to continually seek weaknesses in municipal ordinances, constitutional arguments and media friends to spread rumors and false information.
There is a great deal of unwarranted anti police rhetoric to which the purveyors are demanding instant answers, e.g. 'the police were AWOL' - no, they were out of sight as the ACLU had been demanding, to minimize police visibility.
'When DeAndre Harris was being beaten the police stood by and did nothing.' I saw photos of the beating and did not see any police in the vicinity. In the photo I've seen of 4 or 5 men beating DeAndre with sticks there are several men dressed in black standing and watching. There were several groups or individuals who were dressed in black, Antifa members (they would not have been standing and watching, they would have been engaged in the tussle in some manner), the State Police and City Police, both of whom wore distinctive insignia and lettering identifying them as such (it's unlawful to present yourself as a law enforcement officer with deliberately confusing clothing).....these men watching the beating had no such visible identification. Then there were private security guards who at first glance appeared to be police officers but had no identifying insignia or lettering except for a shoulder patch with the name of the security firm on it. There were a number of these security people around town......I had seen one at the Jewish Synagogue. Personal bodyguards also were dressed in black. Richard Spencer had one when he was surrounded by State Police as he was fleeing the park, distinguishable by his soft cap while the State Police all wore riot helmets. I believe the men dressed in black seen off to the side of the photo were private security guards or personal body guards.
'The protesters and counter protesters should have been separated.' They were. As seen in the videos linked above, aside from the initial push into the park, and another push later the two sides were approximately 15' plus or minus apart. The Kessler group had about a quarter of the park set apart with barriers. The only time when that distance closed was when Kessler's group decided to sally forth onto the street to provoke responses to film.
'The police should have broken up the fights. They should have been on the street.' The fights were instantaneous, 30 seconds max, where the counter protesters tried to steal a flag or a lance and consisted mostly of pushing and shoving. For someone who had no history with protest marches or clashes they appeared frightening and unnerving. I have seen similar engagements at parties, schools, on the ball field, in the service. The worst I saw in the videos I shot was a shot to the head using a bike helmet as a club. It was delivered to a person who had a Nazi helmet on and was similar to a head to head tackle in football. I saw no blood or debilitating injury. If the police had been on the street Kessler's group would have simply gone to a spot that had no police not to mention they would have been surrounded by Antifa and angry citizens, not a good strategy.
'Charlottesville was asked but refused to provide security for the single Jewish synagogue in the city and had to hire a security guard at their own expense.' I know this is patently false because I was at the synagogue before and after the rally, made arrangements at the request of the daughter of one of the congregants and made sure they knew I would be a minute away throughout the day if they had concerns. Please hit this link for a more detailed explanation. CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
More to come.
Let's start with a taste of what's on the Net http://restoringthehonor.blogspot.com/2017/01/virginia-flagger-supporter-says-bob.html (no viruses, has been swept by Cville IT)
