The Latest on violent protests connected to a white nationalist rally in Virginia (all times local) :
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – The Latest on violent protests connected to a white nationalist rally in Virginia (all times local) :
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6 p.m.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is directing his administration to conduct an “extensive review” of how police prepare and respond to rallies like the one that ended with deadly violence in Charlottesville.
The Democratic governor has adamantly supported how police handled Saturday’s protests.
His office said Monday in a statement that he wants his administration to review how permits for such rallies are granted. McAuliffe also said he had directed his administration to form a commission focused on racial reconciliation. The governor said he wants “actionable recommendations” on what the state can do to promote unity and public safety.
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6 p.m.
The driver charged with killing a woman at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville worked as a security officer in Ohio.
Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. said in a statement on Monday that James Alex Fields Jr. worked for the company for two months starting in May 2016 and again from November to the present.
The company says the state of Ohio issued Fields a security officer license and that the man “performed his duties satisfactorily.”
Securitas says Fields was on previously requested vacation leave when police say he rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters on Saturday, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. The company says Fields’ employment has been terminated.
Fields has been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.
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6 p.m.
Accident investigators say there was no distress signal from a Virginia state police helicopter that crashed over the weekend near Charlottesville, where neo-Nazi and so-called alt-right demonstrators clashed with counter-protesters.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the helicopter was providing video to police of activities in downtown Charlottesville before it broke off to lend support to a motorcade for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Within two minutes there was a 911 call reporting the crash, which happened 7 miles (10 kilometers) southwest of the Charlottesville airport.
Both state troopers on board were killed.
The board said the helicopter’s vertical flight path was about 45 degrees when it descended into trees. The tail boom separated from the main wreckage and became lodged in a tree.
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6 p.m.
The mother of a University of Virginia student injured when a car rammed through counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally says she hopes her daughter can be returned to Houston for medical treatment and recovery.
Ericka Chaves said Monday that her 20-year-old daughter, Natalie Romero, suffered a skull fracture and other injuries on Saturday in Charlottesville, which is home to the university.
Chaves says it’s “really hard” for her daughter to talk, but she’s tough. Chaves says she hopes her daughter doesn’t return to the university after she heals.
Romero is attending the school on a scholarship. She was a leader at Houston’s Bellaire High School’s Junior ROTC program and was named outstanding ROTC cadet in 2016.
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4: 45 p.m.
Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas told a news conference Monday that a hotline was being set up to enable people to report assaults and other criminal activity that may have occurred at a weekend rally of white nationalists.
He also said “alt-right” rally attendees had failed to follow an agreed-upon plan on entering Emancipation Park. The attendees were gathering to protest plans to remove a Confederate statue.
The event also drew counter-protesters – and Thomas said the crowds became more aggressive and “mutually engaged combatants” became more violent.
When asked whether he had any regrets, he said: “Absolutely I have regrets. We lost three lives this weekend.”
He was referring to 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who died after a car police say was driven by James Alex Fields Jr. rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters.
Two Virginia State Police officers also died when their helicopter, which was dispatched to the area, crashed just outside of Charlottesville.
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3: 30 p.m.
Google says it’s canceling the registration of neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer for violating its terms of service, after it posted an article mocking the woman who was run over and killed at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.
The site was briefly down Monday – following a move by registration company GoDaddy to also cancel the site’s domain name. But after a short time it was back up, including a post from the website’s publisher, Andrew Anglin, saying he had retaken control of the site. The site claimed it was briefly controlled by a member of the “Anonymous” group of hackers.
The article about Heather Heyer criticizes her appearance, that she had no children, and that she couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the charging car.
The 32-year-old Heyer died after a car police say was driven by James Alex Fields Jr. rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters. The group was demonstrating against white nationalists who had gathered to oppose the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park in Charlottesville.
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3 p.m.
Records from 911 calls show the driver charged with killing a woman at a white nationalist rally was previously accused of beating his mother and threatening her with a knife.
Authorities say 20-year-old James Fields drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters on Saturday in Charlottesville. At least two dozen were wounded in addition to the woman killed.
The records the Florence Police Department in Kentucky show the man’s mother had called police in 2011. Records show Fields’ mother, Samantha Bloom, told police he stood behind her wielding a 12-inch knife. Bloom is disabled and uses a wheelchair.
In another incident in 2010, Bloom said that Fields smacked her in the head and locked her in the bathroom after she told him to stop playing video games. Bloom told officers Fields was on medication to control his temper.
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3 p.m.
A spokeswoman for a hospital in Virginia says 10 patients treated there after a car ran into counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally have been released. Nine others are in good condition.
UVA Health System spokeswoman Angela Taylor gave the update Monday.
Twenty people were taken to UVA Medical Center after the car ran into the crowd Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia. One, Heather Heyer, died. Five were initially in critical condition.
The hospital has said it treated additional patients related to Saturday’s events beyond those 20, but that it can’t give an exact number.
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1: 30 p.m.
A former classmate of the man accused of plowing his car into counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally says the suspect once said he went on a school trip to Germany so he could “get to the Fatherland.”
Keegan McGrath told The Associated Press on Monday that he was roommates with James Alex Fields Jr. on that trip in 2015.
McGrath says he challenged Fields on his beliefs and went home early because he couldn’t handle being in a room with Fields.
He says Fields seemed fairly normal before that at their school in Union, Kentucky.
Fields is charged with second-degree murder after authorities say he drove into a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, fatally injuring one woman and hurting 19 others.
A judge said Monday he’ll appoint an attorney to represent Fields.
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10: 40 a.m.
A judge has denied bond for an Ohio man accused of plowing his car into a crowd at a white nationalist rally.
Judge Robert Downer said during a bond hearing Monday he would appoint a lawyer for James Alex Fields Jr.
Fields is charged with second-degree murder and other counts after authorities say he drove into the crowd, fatally injuring one woman and hurting 19 others.
