Monday, August 14, 2017

Local residents protest Virginia violence

Fort Smith Southwest Times Record

A group of local residents came together to make protest the violence that horrified the country this weekend.

More than a dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Post Office at 3318 S. 74th St. in Fort Smith on Sunday in response to the death and injuries that took place in Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday. A car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally, killing one person and injuring at least two dozen more. The white nationalists gathered to protest plans to remove a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

A helicopter crash that killed the pilot and a passenger later Saturday afternoon outside the town was also linked by Virginia State Police to the rally.

Sunday’s event, which began at 3 p.m., was organized by Indivisible Fort Smith & Western Arkansas. Those involved held up signs with phrases that spoke out against racism and hatred as people drove by on South 74th Street, some of whom honked their horns in approval. Other demonstrators took to chanting, shouting slogans such as “No more hate,” “No more Charlottesville,” and “Let’s make a difference” to all who passed by.

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