Thread by @IntegrityforUSA

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the violence in #Charlottesville, VA. As our suit details, the violence was not spontaneous but, rather, the result of months of online organizing.

We’ll recount in real time the key moments of that August 2017 weekend. #SueANazi

We’re suing the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the weekend of violence. Learn more at integrityfirstforamerica.org.

8/11/17: While defendant Jason Kessler had secured a permit for the Unite the Right “rally” on Saturday 8/12, defendants had also covertly planned a torchlight march for Friday night, 8/11. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Keith.

The organizers encouraged participants to purchase their tiki torches outside of Charlottesville so not to “tip our enemy off.” The point was a surprise assault on the community. Defendant Eli Mosley ordered participants to arrive at UVA’s Nameless Field on Friday night.

8/11/17, morning: Defendant Christopher Cantwell gathers with co-conspirators at a Walmart outside #Charlottesville to travel together to the evening’s violent torchlight march.

Cantwell has said he’s “trying to make myself more capable of violence.” #SueANazi

8/11/17 - 7:30 p.m.: Some 300 white supremacists and neo-Nazis begin arriving at Nameless Field. They’re planning to march on #Charlottesville when darkness falls. Their barking and grunting resonates for blocks. #SueANazi

8/11/17, early evening: Meanwhile, Plaintiff Rev. Seth Wispelwey has organized a peaceful interfaith event with an estimated crowd of 1,000 at St. Paul’s Memorial Church. Dozens of local and national clergy members speak out against hate. #SueANazi

8/11/17, about 8 p.m.: Defendant Richard Spencer texts a reporter, “I’d be near campus tonight, if I were you. After 9:00 p.m., Nameless field.” #SueANazi

8/11/17, 10 p.m.: The organizers descend on UVA, headed for the Rotunda. They wind their way through campus. They are armed with lit torches to evoke the KKK and the Nazis, and to harass and intimidate the community. Photo: @Vicenews. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, 10 p.m.: Meanwhile, community members, including our plaintiffs Natalie Romero and Elizabeth Sines head toward the Rotunda to peacefully stand up against hate. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, night: The white supremacists are marching military-style through campus, chanting: “Blood and soil!”; White lives matter!”; and “Jews will not replace us!”

The counter-protestors answer with, “No Nazis, no KKK, no fascist USA!” Photo: @Vicenews. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, night: Barking noises. Racist chants. Plaintiff Natalie Romero, one of the few Latinx people present, says she has never been more afraid in her entire life. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, night: At the Rotunda, roughly 30 students and community members have locked arms around the statue of Thomas Jefferson. Then, hundreds of neo-Nazi and white supremacist marchers charge at them. Photo: @Vicenews. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, night: Defendants and their co-conspirators begin to kick and punch the counter-protesters who are standing around the statue. They use their torches as weapons, throwing fuel and beating people to the ground. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, 10 p.m.: As the interfaith service ends at St. Paul’s, attendees can hear the mob and see torches outside. Fearing the white supremacists are coming for them, the organizers hold the crowd inside until it is safe to leave. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, late at night: As he drives fellow clergy safely back to their hotels, Rev. Wispelwey sees Unite the Right marchers carrying torches and baseball bats. Photo: @Vicenews. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, late at night: Back at the Rotunda, the counter-protestors struggle to escape the mob. When she’s finally back home, Plaintiff Romero struggles to wash the mace off of her face and clothes. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, late at night: On the Daily Stormer message boards, Defendant Andrew Anglin asks followers to gather at Emancipation Park by noon the next day. Defendant Augustus Invictus says via livestream this will be the most important “rally” of the year. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/11/17, late at night: Our plaintiffs are shaken by what they’ve seen tonight, and they’re having trouble sleeping. They wonder what tomorrow will bring for their community of #Charlottesville. #SueANazi

@vicenews Stay tuned tomorrow as we recount what happened on August 12, 2017. Learn more about IFA and our suit taking on those responsible for this violence at integrityfirstforamerica.org. #SueANazi #SinesvKessler

@vicenews Today marks the two-year anniversary of the violence in #Charlottesville. We’ll recount the events of August 12, 2017 -- the date of the planned “Unite the Right” rally. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 6:00 a.m.: Plaintiff Rev. Wispelwey organizes an interfaith sunrise service at the historical African-American First Baptist Church so community members can gather, feel supported, and pray. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, morning: The defendants and their co-conspirators are planning to arrive at Emancipation Park early, before it even opens — to “defend our territory,” as Defendant Jason Kessler puts it. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 8:00 a.m.: White supremacist groups arrive in military formations, carrying guns, shields, flags, and rods. As instructed by defendant Vanguard America, they are wearing uniforms of helmets, khakis, and white or black polo shirts. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, morning: The hate groups march military-style down Jefferson Street toward Emancipation Park. They pass the local synagogue.

@vicenews 8/12/17, morning: During Shabbat services, neo-Nazis stand outside the synagogue with guns, carrying swastikas and other Nazi symbols, and chanting “Sieg Heil” and other anti-Semitic language. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, morning: Intending to threaten, intimidate, and harass Charlottesville’s Jewish population, Defendant Robert Ray carries a banner that reads, “Gas the k*kes, race war now!” Later, on the Daily Stormer, participants discussed “torch[ing] those Jewish monsters.” #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, morning: As they approach Emancipation Park, the defendants refuse to follow a plan intended to keep them separate from counter-protesters. They enter the park from all sides instead of a single entrance. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 8:00 a.m. Leaving the sunrise service, Plaintiff Wispelwey silently walks arm-in-arm with other clergy toward Emancipation Park to make clear hate is not welcome in #Charlottesville. #SueANazi (Photo credit: Heather Wilson)

@vicenews 8/12/17, just after 8:00 a.m.: The white supremacists and neo-Nazis charge at the peaceful clergy. Most are pushed to the ground, and Rev. Wispelwey is knocked into a bush. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 10:30 a.m.: The violence escalates as the hate groups employ clubs, smoke bombs, and pepper spray. Fearing for their lives, Rev. Wispelwey and other counter-protesters are forced to leave the park. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 11:22 a.m.: #Charlottesville officials declare the gathering in Emancipation Park — which by permit was to begin today at noon — an unlawful assembly. #SueANazi

@vicenews 8/12/17, 11:28 a.m.: Virginia Governor @TerryMcAuliffe declares a state of emergency. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:30 p.m.: The defendants and co-conspirators have mostly relocated to McIntire Park, where the violence continues. Meanwhile, others disperse to other parts of downtown #Charlottesville. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17 - In planning the Unite the Right “rally” online, participants discussed whether it was lawful to run over protestors blocking vehicles. We know this was not a hypothetical question — because of what came next. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:40 p.m.: Defendant James A. Fields Jr. deliberately accelerates his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of peaceful protesters on Fourth St. Bodies and belongings fly through the air. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:40 p.m.: Heather Heyer is killed in the car attack, and at least 34 others are injured, including several of our plaintiffs. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:40p.m.: Our plaintiff Marcus Martin (seen in the white shirt) had pushed his fiance, plaintiff Marissa Blair, out of the way of Fields’ car. Thomas Baker (seen in the dark grey shirt) is also struck and flips over the hood of Fields’ car. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/19, 1:40p.m.: Fields backs up his car over his victims and drives away. He’s arrested later that day. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:45 p.m. Her skull fractured, Natalie Romero receives care from bystanders, while Marissa Blair and Marcus Martin head to the hospital to get treatment for his broken leg and other injuries. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 1:50 p.m.: Plaintiff Elizabeth Sines has narrowly avoided being hit by Fields’ car, but is in a state of acute shock. Fearing another attack, she runs to a nearby friend’s house for safety. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, after 2:00 p.m.: Plaintiffs Pearce and Wispelwey, among others, head to the scene to care for the victims and help medical vehicles get through the crowds. Meanwhile, the perpetrators make plans to quickly leave town. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, about 5 p.m.: While monitoring the violence, two Virginia State Troopers — Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Pilot Berke M.M. Bates — are killed when their helicopter crashes into a nearby wooded area. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe 8/12/17, 5:30 p.m. Some community members hold prayer vigils and lay flowers at the scene of the car attack. How could something like this have happened in their beloved city of #Charlottesville? #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe In the hours and days following the #Charlottesville attacks, the defendants and their co-conspirators celebrate what Defendant Spencer calls “a huge moral victory.” They continue to harass some of the plaintiffs by phone, including Natalie Romero. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe Two years later, our plaintiffs have still not fully recovered from this shocking experience. They suffer ongoing physical and emotional trauma. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe This didn’t happen in the 1800’s. This didn’t happen in Nazi Germany. It happened in the United States of America, in 2017. #Charlottesville #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe The events of August 11-12, 2017 were no accident. These were the result of months of planning to bring racially-motivated violence to #Charlottesville.

The perpetrators need to be held accountable for their actions — and that’s why we’re suing them. #SueANazi

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe Using the defendants' Discord chats and other evidence, our suit details this conspiracy. We’re suing under key civil rights statutes, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 -- meant to protect against racially-motivated violence. Read the complaint here: integrityfirstforamerica.org/our-work/case/…

@vicenews @TerryMcAuliffe On the second anniversary of that horrible weekend, we honor the victims and renew our fight for accountability and justice. Join us at integrityfirstforamerica.org. #SueANazi #SinesvKessler