Organiser of Charlottesville 'Unite the Right' march wins approval to hold rally in Washington DC
White supremacist event to take place in US capital after return to site of fatal protest is blocked
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Your support makes all the difference.The organiser of a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which led to violent clashes and left one woman dead, has been handed approval to stage a second march in Washington DC.
Jason Kessler filed an application last month to host what he described as a “white civil rights rally” in August in Lafayette Square, a public park close to the White House.
Although the application has been approved, a permit for the event has yet to be issued, a spokesman for the National Park Service said.
Mr Kessler plans to stage the march on the anniversary of the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally, which was held in Charlottesville in August last year.
The event drew international attention when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Two participants have already been found guilty of beating a black counter-protester at the rally.
The man accused of killing Ms Heyer has been charged with first degree murder and multiple other crimes, while Mr Kessler himself is facing a federal lawsuit accusing him of conspiring to incite racial hatred and violence.
Donald Trump stoked the controversy further in the days following the march by claiming both sides at the demonstration had been to blame for the violence.
The rally in Charlottesville, home to the flagship campus of the University of Virginia, followed months of protests over the city’s proposed removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee.
Mr Kessler has previously denied the event was intended to provoke violence, claiming counter-protesters sparked the fighting and blaming police for failing to protect his group.
In a redacted copy of the application posted online, Mr Kessler estimated around 400 people would attend the Washington rally, adding he would work with law enforcement during the event.
Mr Kessler also warned authorities in the paperwork that he believed “members of Antifa affiliated groups will try to disrupt” the march.
He was forced to stage the latest event in the nation’s capital after plans for a second rally in Charlottesville were blocked by city lawmakers, citing safety concerns.
Mr Kessler is now suing the city, claiming it denied him his first and 14th amendment rights by refusing to issue the permit.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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