The problem is that people listen to Donald Trump and think he knows what he's talking about. He made up the stuff about lacking a permit.
It turns out that the protesters had permits - two of them, for two other nearby parks - and the white supremacists had a permit for an event in a third park. All of the violence took place outside the permitted areas, but that's irrelevant because a permit to host an event in a public place does not mean protesters are barred from entering that public place at the same time. This is not just my opinion - it comes from Charlottesville officials.
The protestors were not there unlawfully; they had as much right to be there as the white supremacists. That was just a phony excuse to shift the blame from the white supremacists who provoked the attacks. The white supremacists came prepared for violence, and some members of the groups have admitted this in interviews both before and after the incident. Who shows up for a peaceful, "legal" event with bats, shields, helmets, brass knuckles, and cans of mace? |
