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‘We said we would be back’: White nationalists return with torches to Charlottesville

ABOVE: A group of white nationalists held a torch-lit rally at Emancipation Park in Downtown Charlottesville – Oct 8, 2017

White nationalists were back rallying in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday night, nearly two months after the violent clashes that led to the death of a 32-year-old woman.

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A few dozen white nationalists, led by so-called “alt-right” activist Richard Spencer, gathered at Emancipation Park near a covered statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

READ MORE: Woman dead after violence at far-right rally in Charlottesville

Spencer posted a video on social media showing people in white collared shirts marching with torches towards the statue at the University of Virginia.

“We are peacefully walking on the sidewalk, just enjoying the night out,” Spencer said in the post.

“We said we would be back. We’re back.”

Police could be seen driving next to the group as they marched. The video also shows the crowd chanting, “you will not replace us!”

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“The South will rise again. Russia is our friend. The South will rise again,” the crowd yelled.

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READ MORE: How the ‘Unite the Right’ rally turned violent and sparked backlash against Donald Trump

The march coincided with the university’s celebration of its bicentennial, or 200th anniversary.

“It was a great success and a lot of fun, we did an in-and-out flash mob,” Spencer said in the video.

Charlottesville’s Mayor Mike Signer fired off an angry response on Twitter, telling Spencer and the protesters to “go home.”

“Another despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards. You’re not welcome here!” Signer tweeted, adding “we’re looking at all our legal options. Stay tuned.”

On Aug. 12, the ‘Unite the Right’ rally was planned to protest the removal of the Lee statue but turned deadly when counter-protester Heather Heyer, 32, was killed by a car driven into a crowd.

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WATCH: Car rams into protesters at white nationalists rally in Charlottesville

The violence stemmed from a heated national debate about whether Confederate symbols of the U.S. Civil War memorialize past leaders and dead soldiers or rather invoke white supremacy and the Confederacy’s acceptance of the slavery of blacks.

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Charlottesville has since shrouded the monument with a black tarp as a symbol of mourning for the woman who was killed.

In the wake of the rally, other cities have acted to remove monuments to the Confederacy.

*With files from Reuters

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