Charlottesville is still dealing with the fallout from a white supremacist rally and counter demonstration earlier this month. This past weekend trouble erupted on the downtown mall as a small but angry crowd confronted one Alt-Right organizer. Sandy Hausman has that story.
White supremacist Jason Kessler was having drinks with three friends at an outdoor café Saturday night when about ten people gathered around their table and began chanting.
crowd chanting: "Nazis go home! Nazis go home!"
Kessler and his colleagues looked uneasy as they sat – staring at their cell phones. One woman from the crowd, wearing a bright pink wig, began shouting in Kessler’s face. In response, she claimed, he threatened to punch her.
"Did anyone hear him threatening that he was going to punch me?" she cried.
" You’re screaming in my face!” Kessler replied.
Police arrived and one officer escorted Kessler away while others spoke with the demonstrators.
“What’s going on?" an officer demanded.
"We are telling these guys to go home. They helped organize the Klan rally last weekend!" a member of the mini-mob explained.
"They’re not bothering anyone right now," said the officer.
" They’re bothering us!” several protesters shouted in response.
Officers briefly detained the woman in the pink wig – demanding her name. She knelt down, raising her hands as if to invite handcuffs, refused to give her name and was eventually released. Police say the matter is still under investigation but there were no arrests. Charlottesville could face new problems on June 5th when city council meets to consider new names for Lee and Jackson parks. .