A judge was urged Thursday to block the white nationalists behind last summer’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally from returning with weapons or shields to Charlottesville, Virginia.
Attorneys representing Charlottesville and several local businesses reiterated the plea in a request for a preliminary injunction filed as part of ongoing litigation initiated after the Aug. 12 far-right rally descended into chaos amid clashes erupting between armed participants and counterprotesters.
Nearly two months until the event’s anniversary, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that an injunction should be granted barring several individuals and organizations involved in last summer’s demonstration from returning to Charlottesville with weapons until their lawsuit seeking the same outcome is resolved.
“Without injunctive relief from this Court, there is a real and immediate threat that Plaintiffs — and the rest of the City’s residents — will once against be irreparably injured by Defendants’ disregard for the law,” the city’s attorneys argued in their motion.
Plaintiffs including Charlottesville, city businesses, the Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Business Association brought the suit in October against Jason Kessler, a self-described white civil rights activist who organized “Unite the Right,” as well as several individuals and groups who participated in the event, hoping to prevent a repeat of what they called “illegal paramilitary activity” witnessed during last year’s event.
Neither Mr. Kessler nor Elmer Woodard, a lead attorney for the defendants, immediately commented on the request for a preliminary injunction.
Billed as a rally held in support of a Confederate statue slated for removal, Mr. Kessler’s event quickly turned violent when far-right participants equipped with weapons and shields scuffled with counterprotesters, eventually culminating in chaos police connected to three fatalities.
Eight months into litigation, plaintiffs requested the preliminary injunction Thursday as defendants hint at holding another protest on the rally’s anniversary. Mr. Kessler previously filed paperwork seeking permission to hold another “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, and a website he launched for the event was recently updated to say the rally may be held instead on the National Mall in D.C.
A spokesperson for the U.S. National Park Service said they agency received a permit application for the proposed D.C. event and that is being reviewed, Rewire News first reported Thursday.
A Charlottesville Circuit Court judge is slated to rule on the motion seeking an injunction July 5, the city’s NBC News affiliate reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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