How Charlottesville lost control amid deadly protest

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How Charlottesville lost control amid deadly protest

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How Charlottesville lost control amid deadly protest

By Aaron C. Davis, Joe Heim and Laura Vozzella August 26

Arriving in Charlottesville for a rally planned by white nationalists earlier this month, Virginia’s top homeland security official nodded to a nearby group of men clad in camouflage and armed with semiautomatic rifles, believing they were soldiers in the state’s National Guard. ... Then he did a double take.

“They’re not ours, are they?” said the official, Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran, who described the exchange in an interview. “No, sir,” came a reply from his deputy in the passenger seat. “I don’t think they’re with us.”

The presence of the homegrown militia was just one in a series of unanticipated developments in Charlottesville for state and local law enforcement leaders who had planned for weeks for the Aug. 12 showdown between white nationalists and counterprotesters. Despite warnings to the city manager and police chief that a more aggressive approach was needed, including an appeal from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the local police in charge temporarily lost control of the city as people brawled on the streets, leaving one dead.

And though a torch-lit march the night before ended with white nationalists attacking college students, city officials said police stuck to a tactical plan that included little-to-no visible buffer zone between armed white nationalists and their armed opponents.
....

Aaron Davis is a reporter for The Post’s Investigative team. Follow @byaaroncdavis

Joe Heim joined The Post in 1999. He is currently a staff writer for the Metro section. He also writes Just Asking, a weekly Q&A column in the Sunday magazine. Follow @JoeHeim

Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post. Follow @LVozzella

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1. Interesting read

Thanks