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Charlottesville Looks To Move Forward From Violent Protests

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The town of Charlottesville, Va., is trying to look forward this morning after a weekend of racist protests and counter-demonstrations that all turned violent.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Yelling, unintelligible).

MARTIN: That's sound from those clashes on Saturday. The event was called Unite the Right. White marchers carried swastika flags and chanted racist slogans. Counter-protesters gathered to stage their own demonstration. At one point, a driver plowed into a group of the counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 others. That man is now in custody and will be arraigned today.

We're going to hear from the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, in a moment. But first we turn to NPR's Sarah McCammon, who is in Charlottesville. Sarah, you have been on the ground covering all this for the last few days. What have you been hearing from people?

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Really just a lot of sadness and shock throughout the day, Rachel. It was - the weekend's events were a big theme of a lot of church services Sunday morning. And throughout the day, people were leaving flowers and other mementos at the intersection in downtown Charlottesville, where Heather Heyer died - the 32-year-old who was killed by a car that slammed into a crowd of counter-protesters on Saturday.

People gathered for a candlelight vigil last night. They were singing softly and remembering her and honoring the others who were injured. I also visited Lee Park, where the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee still stands. And I met people who were just kind of milling around in small groups, talking to each other. I met a man who said his daughter was Heather Heyer's age, and he was just, you know, expressing a lot of sadness.

MARTIN: Yeah. So what does happen today? This man - the driver - is in custody.

MCCAMMON: That's right. He is due in court today. He's facing several charges. And something else to watch out for going forward is the civil rights investigation into this incident, which is being conducted by the FBI and the Department of Justice. And the community, of course, is continuing to mourn.

MARTIN: NPR's Sarah McCammon in Charlottesville. Thanks, Sarah.

MCCAMMON: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Sarah McCammon
Sarah McCammon is a National Correspondent covering the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast for NPR. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion and reproductive rights, and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news magazines, podcasts and special coverage.
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