Primary Charlottesville white supremacist rally organiser agrees to ‘actively discourage’ violence at future events

The primary organiser of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last summer has formally agreed not to organise any armed group activities in the city going forward, striking a major blow to his plans for a second demonstration.

Jason Kessler, who organised last year’s deadly Unite the Right rally, has settled a lawsuit with the city of Charlottesville by promising not to facilitate any armed, paramilitary activity at future rallies in the city. He is one of nearly 20 other rally organisers, militias, and white supremacist groups to sign a similar pledge.

The agreement, called a consent decree, bars the rally attendees from participating in the kind of pre-planned, armed activities they exhibited last year, when hundreds of people descended on the town carrying tiki torches, bats, and firearms to protest the removal of a confederate statute. Documents show the participants repeatedly referred to the rally as a “battle” in the days beforehand, and told attendees to come “prepared to fight”.

Mr Kessler has previously criticised others for signing the consent decree, and said he was “not going to sign away people’s right to defend themselves”.

“Because I am planning this Unite the Right anniversary rally, I want the ability for people who are attending the rally to be able to defend themselves," he said in an 11 June video entitled "Why I won’t sign the Charlottesville government’s consent decree".

Mr Kessler did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Thursday’s consent decree significantly restricts the activities of Mr Kessler and any participants in a second Unite the Right rally, according to Mary McCord, the lead counsel for plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“Should Kessler hold an anniversary rally in Charlottesville on 12 August, as he has vowed to do, these court orders ensure that he and other participants will not repeat the organised and intimidating displays of paramilitary power that led to chaos, fear, and violent confrontations in the city streets last year,” Ms McCord said in a statement.

Ms McCord, as well as attorneys from two local law firms, filed the suit against 23 rallies attendees and two counter-protest groups in October of last year. The lawsuit claims that participants acted as “paramilitary units” or “unregulated private armies” during the rally – a violation of a Virginia law barring paramilitary activity.

Nineteen defendants have signed the consent decree, which bans them from returning to Charlottesville “as part of a unit of two or more persons acting in concert while armed with a firearm, weapon, shield, or any item whose purpose is to inflict bodily harm, at any demonstration, rally, protest, or march.”

A circuit court judge is expected to file default judgements against four other defendants shortly.

Also included in the suit is left-wing militia Redneck Revolt, which describes themselves as an “anti-racist, anti-fascist community defence formation”. The group signed on to the consent decree on Tuesday, despite local groups calling for them to be dropped from the suit entirely.

“We in Redneck Revolt recognise that the consent decree does not alter our core principle of community defence, or lessen the commitment we hold to show up for each other and our communities,” the organisation said in a statement on their website.

“Rather than continue to spend energy and resources on a trial where the state’s preferred outcome is clearly predetermined, we are choosing to end the litigation and focus our energies on the many important fights ahead,” they added.

Mr Kessler, meanwhile, has sued the city of Charlottesville for denying him a permit for Unite the Right II, which he plans to hold on the anniversary of last year’s event. If he fails to obtain the permit, Mr Kessler has said, he will host the rally at a park outside the White House. Open carry of firearms is illegal in the capital, and concealed carry is heavily restricted.