Hundreds of angry residents of Charlottesville, Virginia, swarmed a city council meeting on Monday night to express their outrage at the city’s response to the violent white nationalist rallies a week ago.
After members of the the community unfurled a large banner with the words “blood on your hands” and shouted down the scheduled meeting — the first since white nationalists descended on the city — the city council agreed to drop its planned agenda and let the people speak in town hall-style. The council then began hearing from speaker after speaker, each telling horror stories of the violence, harassment, and hate they witnessed; excoriating the police force for failing to protect counter-protesters; and demanding that the council remove confederate statues immediately (in defiance of a state law that may prevent them from doing so). Some chanted “overnight,” urging the city to follow the lead of Baltimore and other cities that removed Confederate memorials. Several warned council members and Mayor Mike Signor (D), “your political career is over.”
First Cville city council meeting since 8/12, not going well for the city https://t.co/5RQ9lYKGw9
— Sarah Smith (@sarahsmithva) August 21, 2017
.@SolidCville on #Periscope: mother of victim is testifying. 4th yr UVA student, 2 broken legs. May not walk again. https://t.co/02j0NdjfKr
— Sarah Smith (@sarahsmithva) August 22, 2017
Councilors back after 15 minutes. Bellamy appears to be in charge. 300 people there, each will get a minute.
— C-VILLE Weekly (@cvillenews_desk) August 22, 2017
.@SolidCville on #Periscope: LIVE from @CvilleCityHall, "Your career ends tonight . . . this is our city"
— Sarah Smith (@sarahsmithva) August 22, 2017
A ThinkProgress analysis of jail records found nearly as many arrests over the weekend for public intoxication in the Charlottesville area as for the violence, even though one person was killed and dozens more were injured.