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at tonight’s walking tour of charlottesville’s downtown monuments, unmarked SUVs full of state police not in uniform circled the park. i spent half the tour assuring concerned, traumatized people that i was sure they were cops and not the other kind of white nationalist militia.
state troopers on the roof of the historical society took photographs of a crowd of mostly elderly white people on a historical walking tour. men with visible guns lurked around corners.
cops in olive drab with visible thigh holsters with no visible badges are not the right look for this weekend. if you’re going to do security theater, at least properly identify yourselves.
similarly, a number of folks have shared concerns this weekend about a van parked between the lee statue and the synagogue all weekend with a punisher sticker on the back of it. this morning i saw state police loading gear out of it. 
the punisher logo is not meant to project that its bearer is a fan of a comic book character. it is not suitable for an unmarked police vehicle parked in an area local residents are anxious may be targeted by white supremacists.
salon.com/2019/04/28/the…
salon.com/2019/04/28/the…
E V E R Y report i’ve seen from my traumatized community this weekend about possible white supremacist activity downtown has turned out to be a state trooper. they are not here to keep us safe. we keep us safe. they’re just scaring people.
