Gov. Ralph Northam recently ordered the statue's removal, citing the pain gripping the country over the killing of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Extremist groups have blanketed social media and online forums with ominous messages and hinted at potential violence.

At least three suspected members of a white supremacist group called The Base, including Canadian Patrik Mathews, were believed to be planning to attend the rally, according to a law enforcement official.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday he will summon lawmakers back to the state capitol this summer to take up a package of gun-control legislation.

Virginia's blackface scandal has seen calls emerge for its governor to resign.

The tumult in Virginia began late last week, with the discovery of the photo on Gov. Ralph Northam’s yearbook profile page that showed someone in blackface standing beside another person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.

Rowswell detailed how he had worn blackface when he was in high school in 1984 as part of a costume that had him play a member of the band The Temptations.

The new accusation further clouds the fate of Virginia's government, as Justin Fairfax would take over if Gov. Ralph Northam were to resign over a racist photo that surfaced last week.

Critics have publicly condemned "blackface" for decades, saying it dehumanizes blacks by introducing and reinforcing racial stereotypes.

Virginia's top three elected officials are being urged to resign over two separate "blackface" scandals and a sexual assault allegation.