Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Sunday blamed white supremacists and neo-Nazis for inciting deadly clashes in Charlottesville, drawing an implicit contrast with President Trump’s refusal to single out any side.
Addressing worshipers at the Mount Zion First African Baptist Church, a few blocks from where the clashes took place Saturday, McAuliffe did not mention Trump by name, but he blamed “political rhetoric” for “breeding bigotry.”
“To the white supremacists and the neo-Nazis who came to our state yesterday, there is no place for you here,” he said. “Shame on you.”
The overwhelmingly African American congregation responded with applause and shouts of “Amen.” Eight white worshipers, who said they had joined the Mt. Zion service for the first time, stood and introduced themselves.
“We figured this was a day we should all be together,” said one man who introduced himself as Drew Williams and attended the service with his fiancée.
Bloody street brawls broke out Saturday between far-right protesters and anti-racism counter-demonstrators, many of whom carried shields, weapons and Nazi and Confederate battle flags. One woman was killed when a driver plowed a sports car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators.
On Sunday, city officials identified the woman as Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville. A memorial service for Heyer was planned on Sunday evening at the University of Virginia.
The driver — identified as James Alex Fields Jr., 20, from Ohio — was arrested and charged with murder and other crimes. Two state troopers also died when a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed near the city after monitoring the chaos.
“It was a bad day, but it’s going to be a better day,” the Rev. Alvin Edwards, the pastor of Mount Zion, told the congregation. “You need to know that what happened yesterday isn’t going to stop anything.”
Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, the Democratic nominee to replace McAuliffe in elections later this year, received the most enthusiastic response from the congregation.
“All of us will not and do not condone white supremacists that brought their hatred and bigotry to the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said. “That’s not what we’re about.”
“What I’m asking you to do today is put aside the anger, as I did when I got up today,” McAuliffe said. “Let us show these people that we are bigger than they are, we are stronger than they are.”
McAuliffe praised police for preventing more deadly violence Saturday, saying he was told that 80% of the white nationalist protesters were armed.
McAuliffe added that one of the state troopers killed in the helicopter clash previously had served on his security detail.
The White House and Trump associates, meanwhile, pushed back Sunday after critics, including prominent Republicans, condemned the president for not singling out white supremacists by name when he said that “many sides” were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville.
“The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups,” the White House said in a statement. “He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”
Speaking on NBC News on Sunday, national security advisor H.R. McMaster said that it “ought to be clear to all Americans” that Trump’s comments about the attack were meant as condemnation of white supremacists. On ABC News, McMaster described the car attack on counter-protesters as “terrorism.”
CIA director Mike Pompeo also spoke out in defense of Trump, telling CBS News that the president’s condemnation of the violence was “specific” and “frankly, pretty unambiguous.”
The area in downtown Charlottesville where the clashes occurred remained closed to vehicle traffic Sunday morning. There was no sign of further protests, and the police presence appeared lighter than on Saturday.
Twitter: @davidcloudLAT
Times staff writers Cloud reported from Charlottesville and Kaleem from Los Angeles.
