Neo Nazis, white supremacists and members of the so-call Alt-Right clashed with anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville, Va. over the weekend following a white nationalist rally dubbed “Unite the Right.”
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On Friday, a large group of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and members of the so-called Alt-Right marched through the University of Virginia campus to the school’s statue of founding father Thomas Jefferson, where they were met by a much smaller group of student counter-protesters, who were eventually surrounded.
Punches were thrown and several people had to be treated for minor injuries, with police eventually breaking up the skirmish and arresting at least one person. The march was a lead-up to the planned “Unite the Right” rally, a protest against the impending removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park, the latest in a growing and controversial movement to take down Confederate statues and monuments in various U.S. cities.
WATCH: Car rams into protesters at white nationalists rally in Charlottesville
Emancipation Park was called Lee Park until just two months ago, when Charlottesville city council voted to rename it. Jason Kessler, who organized the rally, actively campaigned against the renaming of the downtown park, telling WHLM radio that Lee was looked up to by white people who feel threatened by multiculturalism and “ethnic cleansing.”
On Saturday the “Unite the Right” rally turned violent with between the white nationalist groups and counter-protesters. The violence claimed one life any many more suffered serious injuries.
Here’s a look at some of the photos from Charlottesville over the weekend.
White nationalists encircle counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville, Va., on August 11, 2017.
Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images
White nationalists encircle counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville, Va., on August 11, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
White nationalists in Emancipation Park prior to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville ,Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other alt-right factions scuffled with counter-demonstrators near Emancipation Park in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia.
Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Dozens were injured in skirmishes and many others after a white nationalist plowed his sports car into a throng of protesters.
Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Several white supremacists attack a black man, bloodying him with wooden poles and part of a broken parking arm on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Demonstrators carry confederate and Nazi flags during the “Unite the Right” free speech rally at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA on August 12, 2017.
Emily Molli/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Peter Cvjetanovic along with other white nationalists encircle and chant at counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville, Va., on August 11, 2017.
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Rescue personnel help an injured woman after a car ran into a large group of protesters after awhite nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.
AP Photo/Steve Helber
A counter demonstrator uses a lighted spray can against a white nationalist demonstrator at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.
AP Photo/Steve Helber
White supremacists clash with counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
A man drags a white supremacist away from counter demonstrators after he was attacked during a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Reuters /Joshua Roberts
Members of white nationalists are met by a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Reuters /Joshua Roberts
Virginia State Police use pepper spray as they move in to clear a clash between members of white nationalist protesters against a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
Members of white nationalists clash against a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
White nationalists carry torches on the grounds of the University of Virginia, on the eve of a planned “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 11, 2017.
Alejandro Alvarez/News2Share via Reuters.