A large group of white nationalists holding torches and shouting racist slogans marched on the University of Virginia on Friday night — sparking outrage from politicians and local residents.
The aggressive crowd chanted “white lives matter” and the Nazi slogan “blood and soil” while stalking into the Charlottesville, Virginia campus in advance of Saturday’s “Unite the Right” rally, according to the Los Angeles Times.
At one point, the far right group surrounded a smaller batch of counter protesters while yelling “you will not replace us.”
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer called the rally a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance.”
“I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus,” he added in a post on Facebook.
Senator Mark Warner (D – Virginia) scolded the assembly in a tweet on Friday.
“To the white nationalists descending on Charlottesville: go back to where you came from. Hate has no place in Va.” Warner tweeted.
Far right groups have targeted the city after they announced the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.