The fash thought they were going to sneak in an pull a White Power rally in Charlottesville, VA without anyone noticing. They did, and they are not going to like what that means.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Lee Perrillo stood in Lee Park to denounce the White Supremacist rally that took place there over the weekend, continuing the widespread condemnation of the event that has come from not just the community and it’s leaders but other candidates and elected officials as well. The fallout from the rally, which included nationally prominent neo-Fascist figures such as Richard Spencer, Matthew Heimbach, and Identity Evropa’s Nathan Damingo making his second public appearance since he assaulted a female antifascist in Berkeley in April, ultimately resulted in the arrest of local hatemonger Jason Kessler less than a week after he was sentenced for assaulting an individual in January and the mayor receiving antisemetic threats.

“We believe that these are the last gasps of a dying and racist ideology, and the way we defeat them is by being honest about our history and how we address them,” Perrillo, a Charlottesville native, said Monday, saying also that what was seen was not compatible with “Virginia values,” and later calling for a commission on racial healing for the state.

The two rallies held that day was organized in secret, presumably to avoid any opposition from antifa who has been facing off with Richard Spencer for over a year and was in response to the city council vote in February to remove the bronze statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which was installed almost a century ago depicting Lee in uniform on a horse and to rename Lee Park, where the statue stands, and another nearby park named for another Confederate General, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Despite the extra effort to avoid opposition, however both rallies, one held during the day and again at night when those participating wielded torches as they rallied around the statue were met with those opposed to their presence. The torch-bearing rally was cut short after altercations between the neo-Fascists, and community members.

Others that participated in the rallies were Mike “Enoch” Peinovich, who was last seen April 29 at a neo-Nazi rally in Pikeville, KY sponsored by the National Socialist Movement and Traditionalist Worker Party, Patrick Sharp, a neo-Fascist from the Atlanta, GA area, and Jason Kessler of Charlottesville, who on May 8 was sentenced to a 30-day suspended sentence and 50 hours community sentence on a assault conviction stemming from when he attacked a detractor in a local mall that was opposed to his petition to remove Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy from Charlottesville City Council, has been charged with misdemeanor assault. He claimed he was only attending the rallies as a writer for “several news outlets,” including right-wing website The Daily Caller, which has been courting neo-Fascists in recent months like VDARE editor Peter Brimelow.

The following evening, Bellamy, an African American who is among the most vocal against the statues, led a candlelight vigil at Lee Park denouncing the rally from the night before, which was attended by hundreds more than those that attended the neo-Fascist rally. Kessler once again was arrested, this time for disorderly conduct after he did not obey officer commands to leave the area and to stop using a bull horn to incite others, according to police. A person who police say spat on Kessler and another person who reportedly threw a phone at a police officer were the two other arrests that night. It is not known at this time if Kessler will have to serve the 30 days that were suspended almost a week before. Meanwhile, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, who was among those that voted to keep the statue, began receiving death threats and antisemitic messages after he praised the Sunday rally, saying in a tweet, “Candlelight vigil against hate in Cville. These are the kind of ‘torches’ I like to see.”

All but one of the gubernatorial candidates had denounced the rallies by Monday morning. Corey Stewart, who has been accused of associating with the so-called “alt-right” declined to do so, saying on Twitter, in response to the Richmond Times-Dispatch noting the point, “Only a jerk would talk politics on Mother’s Day.” Curiously, Stewart’s account tweeted at least six political messages Sunday, both before and after this declaration, and his campaign also sent out an email solicitation Sunday asking supporters to register to vote and donate.