August 12, 2019 In Alt-America
In a press conference, Department of Justice prosecutors relied heavily on a report produced by the city of Charlottesville that claimed local officials, including Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas, deliberately fomented violence in order to shut down the Unite The Right Rally in 2017. “Heather Heyer died because the police department turned the streets over to anarchy after declaring an 'unlawful assembly,'” said one prosecutor. “There’s evidence to suggest this decision to shut down this rally was pre-planned by both state and city officials, constituting willful defiance of an injunction by a federal judge that indicated the rally should go forward. Worse, enabling violence was part of this plan, potentially opening these individuals to serious charges and civil liability. All Americans, regardless of their opinions, have the right to state them so long as they are not directly threatening others.”
To the initial dismay of congressional Republicans, the Trump Administration blamed local and state Democratic leaders for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, former Mayor Wes Signer, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, and former Chief of Police Al Thomas have all found themselves increasingly under fire as witnesses have confirmed there was a pre-determined decision to create disorder and shut down the rally. “Rather than engage the crowd and prevent fights, the CPD plan was to declare the event unlawful and disperse the crowd,” according to the "Heaphy Report" [PDF] copies of which were distributed by the DOJ to reporters “to make sure you finally read it,” in the words of one spokesman. “The Operational Plan outlined the steps by which an unlawful assembly could be declared,” the report continued.[More]
