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The One Year Anniversary of Unite the Right is Here. A lot Has Happened

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RVA Tank, Parkland Shooting, Democratic-nominee Spanberger, families separated at the border, KKK effigies, Governor Northam, punching Nazis, getting punched by Nazis.

It’s been a long year.

As we approach the one year anniversary of Unite the Right, the alt-right rally held in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 last year that ended with the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer, it’s hard to ignore the tension in the air. Whether that tension has increased or decreased, or the political dissension within our country is better or worse, Americans are certainly motivated. We’ve seen protest after protest, breaking news stories flying in each day with news of Russia, North Korea, Robert Mueller, Corey Stewart, and Jason Kessler.

The white nationalist movement has not slowed down, nor has it given up. Identity Evropa came to Richmond to pick up trash in hopes of normalizing their cause. The FBI has as many open cases concerning white supremacist propaganda online as they do for ISIS. And Unite the Right is happening again, but this time, its headed to Washington, D.C.

Here is a brief roundup of events from the past year to get you up to speed on the white nationalist movement in Virginia in preparation for this weekend’s latest appearance from our best-known racists (this list may not include every event related to white nationalism in Virginia):

August 2017: Jason Kessler, online blogger, and white nationalist, successfully organizes an alt-right rally called Unite the Right on Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, in the name of protecting the Confederate statues in two local parks. Several physical altercations occurred during the rally, and attendees were armed with bats, guns, or other weapons.

White Supremacists at Unite the Right

James Alex Fields, Jr., a white nationalist, drove his vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters after the rally was deemed unlawful by police. His attack killed Heather Heyer and injured multiple others. Fields was part of Vanguard America, a white supremacist organization. He was placed in jail and denied bail.

President Trump suggested the blame for the violence rested with “many sides.”

September 2017: The Dreamers, young first-generation immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act, mobilized after Trump’s threat to end the program. Long marches between Charlottesville and Richmond as well as Charlottesville and Washington sprung up as September clung to summer temperatures. DACA was rescinded later that month by Trump, but at least temporarily upheld by the Supreme Court.

An activist group hung Ku Klux Klan effigies in Bryan Park.

The New Confederate States of America planned a rally in Richmond to support Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, claiming to be motivated by the Monument Avenue Historical Commission convened in June by Mayor Levar Stoney and tasked with providing recommendations for what to do with the statues. The rally took place on Sept. 16, attended by over 400 counter-protesters, a heavy police presence, and a small handful of CSA members who arrived in twos and threes. The CSA was severely outnumbered in what RVA Mag called a “win for Richmond,” as the protest ended peacefully.

Counter-Protestors in Richmond

Later that month, the FBI claimed white nationalists are just as dangerous as Islamic terrorists.

October 2017: At the beginning of the month, a circuit court judge in Charlottesville handed down a ruling signaling that the Commonwealth’s laws protecting war memorials could be retroactively applied to Virginia’s Confederate monuments.

The City of Charlottesville and several small businesses in the area filed a novel lawsuit to prevent future militia groups from entering their city again. This lawsuit is ongoing and continues to seek a verdict in August of 2018. Six defendants have settled since May 2018.

White nationalist Richard Spencer held a torch-lit rally in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, glorifying the Robert E. Lee monument and mimicking a similar torch-lit rally held on UVA’s campus the night before Unite the Right. Around two dozen white nationalists were present.

Jason Kessler began a new white nationalist group called New Byzantium following Unite the Right. It’s one of many new alt-right groups that continue to crop up to this day, largely spread through online forums.

November 2017: In a Democratic sweep, Ralph Northam became the new Governor of Virginia, joined by Justin Fairfax as Lt. Governor, and Mark Herring as Attorney General. It was a significant Democratic victory similar to the victory of then-Senator Obama when he won the presidency in 2008. The blue wave was accompanied by a new wave of female representatives in the General Assembly, the largest number of women to be elected to the GA in Virginia’s history. This included the first Latina women, the first Asian-American, and the first transgender woman to win a seat in the GA.

January 2018: Chris Cantwell, the notorious “Crying Nazi,” faced up to 20 years in jail for pepper-spraying counter-protesters at a torch-lit white supremacist rally on UVA’s campus the night before Unite the Right. At the beginning of the month, he attempted to sue anti-fascists, claiming that they discharged the pepper spray against themselves.

Thousands of women come to Richmond for the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March.

March 2018: Deandre Harris, a black man viciously beaten by white nationalists during the Unite the Right, was charged and then acquitted of assault by the District Court in Charlottesville. During Unite the Right, Harris was assaulted by six men with wooden pikes in the Market Street Parking Garage, eventually sustaining a spinal injury and receiving 10 staples in his head.

June 2018: Nathan Larson, a self-confessed pedophile and white supremacist, runs for Congress in Virginia. Previously an accountant in Charlottesville, Larson is running as an independent. Jason Allsup, another white nationalist who attended the Unite the Right rally, was elected as a Republican official in Washington state. This marked the beginning of many white supremacists and anti-Semitic candidates running on the Republican ticket in America ahead of midterm elections. This trend continued with Corey Stewart, Virginia’s Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. He appeared on CNN and struggled to answer questions about his past ties to white supremacists and anti-semites. He continues to be aggressive online and has not revoked his white nationalist ties.

Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 7th District, wins a huge primary victory and will run against Dave Brat in the fall for the congressional seat.

Abigail Spanberger

President Trump begins his “zero tolerance” immigration policies and enacts legislation that separates immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. National and international outrage sparks protests throughout the Commonwealth, including one outside Dave Brat’s office, who publicly supported Trump’s decision.

The National Parks Service approved an application submitted by Jason Kessler for another alt-right rally to be held in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 11 and 12 this year. This will come to pass this weekend in Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C.

Identity Evropa visited Richmond for a little community service by picking up trash around town in an attempt to normalize their organization and beliefs. In Lexington, local restaurant owner Stephanie Wilkinson refused to service White House Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at her restaurant, The Red Hen. It was followed by five days of protests against and for her restaurant. In one instance, someone threw chicken feces on their storefront window.

July 2018: The Monument Avenue Commission recommended that the Jefferson Davis monument be removed from Monument Avenue, with Mayor Stoney’s approval. Later in August, an unknown individual vandalized the Robert E. Lee monument with red paint, writing “BLM” (Black Lives Matter) on the statue’s base. This is only the latest act of vandalism concerning the statues over the past year.

Chris Cantwell, the aforementioned “crying Nazi,” was barred from entering the Commonwealth for the next five years. He plead guilty to assault and battery for spraying two anti-racist activists with pepper spray the night before Unite the Right.

August 2018:

Now that August approaches, we look to another year that will hopefully not result in death or injury. Jason Kessler will be in D.C. this Sunday, Aug. 12, in Lafayette Square to march and protest in the name of “white civil rights.” Regular faces like Kessler, Spencer and former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke are said to appear and speak, although the movement has suffered serious divisions and other prominent white nationalists are disavowing Kessler.

A vigil will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11, in Charlottesville at 5 p.m. for Heather Heyer, in remembrance of her life, as well as an anti-racist march the next day in an attempt to heal from the events of last year.

Stay with RVA Mag on Instagram (@rvamag) and Twitter (@RVAmag)  for updates on these events this coming weekend.

Students Pressure VCU President to Protect DACA Recipients

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Undocumented students facing a threat of deportation by the Trump administration are finding support in Virginia Commonwealth University’s student organization PLUMAS, short for Political Latinx United for Movement and Action in Society.

The group sat down with VCU President Michael Rao in September to discuss the ways in which beneficiaries of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, DACA, will be affected by the program’s termination in March of 2018.

The meeting took place the day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the federal government will be rescinding DACA, which granted legal status to almost 800,000 undocumented  immigrants who arrived to the United States as children. One of these immigrants is VCU student Yanet Amado.

“I’m a DACA recipient,” Amado announced to her fellow students at a PLUMAS rally. “Do I look different? The only thing that separates me from you is my legal status.”

Young undocumented immigrants enrolled in the DACA program, commonly referred to as DACAmented, were granted a social security number, a work permit and two year’s protection from deportation, among other benefits.

“One of the big benefits of being in DACA was being able to obtain a driver’s license,” said Amado, “without having to be scared of being stopped just because of a simple traffic violation and putting myself in danger.”

DACA benefits were also expanded in Virginia by the State Attorney General Mark Herring in 2014 to include in-state tuition for undocumented students. Now, Amado’s education in jeopardy.

“There’s more pressure for me to finish school within two semesters,” Amado said. “I do not know if I will be able to make it. I don’t know if I will be able to graduate.”

The demands PLUMAS has made to VCU’s administration mirror the benefits that undocumented immigrants will be losing next year. The group is demanding continued in-state tuition and that VCU police do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

PLUMAS public relations manager Hermie Jackson says the group’s meeting with Rao was a reminder that documented students stand in solidarity with DACA recipients, and that the potential deportation of VCU students is an issue that the school’s administration “can’t just brush this under the rug.”

“Right now we want to make sure that DACA recipients feel like they can come and talk to us,” Jackson said. “No one is going to judge them. Nobody is going to out them. Instead, we just provide them a space to talk.”

Following the conclusion of their meeting with Rao, PLUMAS held a rally on campus to “put pressure” on the school’s administration. PLUMAS President Ana Diaz Casos says the group “heard a lot of words” but it “would still like to see action.”

“We are hoping that VCU keeps its word,” Casos said. “Our priority is our community. These are things we’re demanding — that we really need — and that VCU has the power and authority to deliver.”

VCU professor of Latin American studies Antonio Espinoza says the university is actively looking for ways to provide DACAmented students with financial support.

“The president of our university has stated that he will continue encouraging Congress to pass some sort of relief for DACA students,” Espinoza said. He says PLUMAS has “a very lucid understanding of what is going on.”

“I think the idea is to phase out DACA,” Espinoza said. “While at the same time presumably giving Congress a possibility of providing a permanent solution that doesn’t come from the executive branch.”

DACA was established by former President Barack Obama in June of 2012 by way of an executive order. The move was controversial at the time, but now Espinoza says there is no way to know “what the likelihood of Congress reaching some sort of agreement on this contentious issue is.”

He says many immigration experts agree that “this phasing out of DACA is just another aspect of a broader anti-immigrant stance” by the Trump administration. PLUMAS seconds this sentiment.

“You don’t see the Trump administration targeting white undocumented immigrants,” Jackson said. “You see them very blatantly targeting brown, black, and people of color in general.”

Espinoza says the termination of DACA impacts DACAmented students in three ways: First, it “stigmatizes” them by revoking their legal status and “turning them again into unauthorized immigrants, making them ‘illegal’ in quotation marks.”

Second, Espinoza says that terminating DACA “intimidates” undocumented students who have shared private information with their universities because “the fact that the Trump administration could potentially share this information with immigration authorities is intimidating in itself.”

Finally, Espinoza says the decision to end DACA “potentially marginalizes” DACAmented immigrants. He says this is why students such as those in PLUMAS “have really taken a very strong stance in defense of themselves.”

“By taking away their permits to work legally, these students are going to be driven into the underground economy,” Espinoza said. “Where many other undocumented immigrants live, and where many undocumented immigrants are not paid fair wages — where many undocumented immigrants are exploited or abused.”

Because her DACA expires after the program’s termination date of March 5, 2018, Amado says she will not be able to renew her DACA and hold on to her work permit. Therefore, she will lose her current job and will not be able pursue a career at the state level, which was one of her goals after graduating.

“I’ve worked hard to be here just like anybody else,” Amado said. “I have worked hard for my job. I haven’t taken anybody else’s.”

Amado falls into the category of DACAmented immigrants who were not able to apply for a final extension by Oct. 5. She will lose her DACA benefits by March of 2018. For those who did manage to apply for an extension, they will lose their protections in two years with no chance to renew.

With the deadline for renewal applications of Oct. 5 recently past us, the phasing out of DACA continues.

However, Espinoza says  “there are several fronts” where PLUMAS, the VCU community and undocumented rights activists can keep combating the dissolution of DACA, including the judicial system and Congress. Regardless of what progress will look like, Espinoza says the efforts by PLUMAS are not in vain.

“I think it is realistic to change the narrative about what it means to be undocumented,” Espinoza said. “And to change how undocumented immigrants are perceived in the United States.”

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans

 

DACA: Virginia DREAMers, Politicians React to Trump’s Decision to End Program

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The Justice Department announced recently that it is going to end the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country if they fulfilled certain requirements.

Recipients of DACA, often called DREAMers, are young people who were brought to the United States at an early age without proper immigration documentation. In order to receive DACA status, a young person must come forward and apply for deferred action. To qualify, the applicant must have been brought to the United States at a young age, continually resided in the United States for the last ten years, be in school or the military, and have a clean criminal record.

If and when the program is ended 800,000 people nationwide would be affected and 12,000 of those are in Virginia.

“Before we ask what is fair to illegal immigrants, we must also ask what is fair to American families, students, taxpayers, and jobseekers,” President Trump said in a statement announcing the end of the Obama-era program.

Many state politicians, local non-profits, and even a few young people currently residing in Richmond have responded to Trump’s decision, which is set to go into effect in six months.

Photo Credit: Ashley Luck and Dai Ja Norman

“President Trump’s decision to rescind DACA is a heartless attack on 800,000 young people who were brought here by their parents at a young age,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe in a statement. “It will plunge families, communities, businesses, and schools into terrible uncertainty for no reason other than to keep a political promise to extremists on the far right-wing of his party.”

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) President Michael Rao recently spoke out in support of students currently enrolled under DACA.

“DACA students are an integral part of our community, and VCU will continue to assist DACA students as they complete their educations and move on to contribute to our society,” Rao said in a statement. “We will continue to advocate for DACA students within the legal bounds that govern us as a public university. We are committed to safeguard their privacy and confidentiality to the fullest extent allowed by law.”

On Sept. 7, a group of DACA students held a rally in front of VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library to voice their opposition and stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by the decision.

“Once my DACA expires I’m not going to be able to obtain in-state tuition,” VCU senior Jessica Moreno-Caycho, member of the student organization Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society (PLUMAS), said in an interview with CBS6. “It’s going to be hard for me to continue my studies. I’m not going to have a valid driver’s license. I’m not going to have a valid work permit, so my livelihood and how much I earn is definitely going to be affected.”

Photo Credit: AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin

And at the end of last month, the DREAMERS of Virginia, an organization that advocates for immigration rights, completed a 70-mile walk from Charlottesville to Richmond in support of immigration.

This decision also affects individuals within Richmond’s music scene.

Andreas Magnusson is a music producer who works with musicians from all over the world, including bands such as Black Dahlia Murder and Haste The Day. Magnusson originally came to the United States when his mother got a loan from Sweden to study computer science.

Becoming attached to the US by the time she earned her associate’s degree, Magnusson and his mother moved to Richmond as she went on to earn her master’s degree under a student visa. Magnusson was entering the third grade when they moved to Richmond.

After finishing school, Magnusson’s mother obtained a H1-B visa, which allows immigrants that have specialized knowledge to work for their employer in the U.S. By the time they submitted their green card application, it got denied due to a piece of paper work being expired by a few months. By the time the paperwork was approved, Magnusson was over the age of 21, and couldn’t obtain a green card through his mother.

“The second that happened, I was here illegally,” Magnusson said.

Magnusson applied for DACA as soon as it was introduced, and was able to obtain a driver’s license, which he wasn’t allowed to have before DACA was implemented.

“Luckily, after two years of not having a car and being miserable, Obama instates DACA and I’m able to get a license and function a little bit more like a normal person,” Magnusson said. “All this time, I’m paying taxes. The IRS doesn’t care where you’re from, but the United States would not recognize me as a legitimate person because I’m technically here illegally. If I get pulled over in a car, I can get deported.”

In addition to paying taxes, Magnusson pays for an immigration lawyer, who he’s had since he was 10 years old. Immigration lawyers tend to nickel-and-dime people who need their services, Magnusson said.

“If I write his paralegal an email, just for her to respond, I get a bill for $45 dollars,” Magnusson said. “Every two years I pay $480 to renew my DACA. Because I don’t want to mess it up, I have an immigration lawyer, and I pay them about $1,200 each time. It basically costs right under $2,000 dollars every two years just to be here.”

Because DACA participants are not allowed to travel outside of the U.S., Magnusson has not been able to travel back to Sweden in over a decade.

“The last time I went, I was 22 or 23,” Magnusson said. “I’m 35 now. I’ve had family members die, I’ve had grandparents get too old to where they can no longer come visit because they can’t make that flight.”

Despite his situation, Magnusson claims that some people are more sympathetic to him than they would be if they had spoken to a person of color who lives under DACA.

“Anyone that I’ve explained my situation to, they all feel for me,” Magnusson said. “The whole thing feels so racist because, for me, I’ve never had anyone really tell me anything that’s like ‘you have no right to be here.’ But at the same time, those people would say that to somebody that looks and sounds different from I do.”

Several groups in Virginia are working to fight racial discrimination associated with deportations. One of these groups is ICE Out of RVA, a community organization that advocates for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and deportations in the Richmond area. The group recently called for the release of documents detailing ICE enforcement activities under the Freedom of Information Act.(FOIA)

“We try to build community as the primary means of building defense,” said a member of ICE Out of RVA, who asked to remain anonymous. “We try to build the base in the community because historically, we haven’t had any support from external factors or the government.”

Racial profiling plays a major factor in deciding who gets targeted for deportation, the member said.

“Racial profiling is that much more of a useful tool to the collaboration of the police and ICE,” the member said. “There are checkpoints and entire communities that are surveillanced by police. You are just going to be that much more targeted for either your race, your immigration status, or both.”

Despite allowing some immigrants to stay in the country, the member believes that DACA has helped perpetuate the idea of someone being a “good” or “bad” immigrant.

“DACA has always been a double-edged sword, in that indoctrinating immigrant youth was a way of leveraging that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ narrative,” the member said. “People definitely believe that there are people who don’t deserve to be here, even amongst the immigrant population, and DACA was another tool of that.”

The member also said that no matter what legislation is being passed, the parents of the documented immigrants will always be negatively impacted.

“They’re ultimately the ones at risk no matter what policies or legislation is passed,” the member said.

On Sept. 12, ICE Out of RVA held a demonstration outside of ICE’s Richmond office in response to the DACA decision, as well as in response to “Operation Mega”, a nationwide operation that planned to target 8,400 undocumented immigrants. The operation would have taken place over the course of five days starting on September 17, but was canceled due to Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, according to NBC News.

On the state level, Attorney General Mark Herring announced last week that he has joined 15 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the decision. The lawsuit argues that the termination of DACA violates equal protection and due process laws.

“Simply put, there is no upside to ending DACA, only downside,” Herring said in a press release. “It will hurt Virginia’s economy and make our communities less safe. It will needlessly tear families apart, burden social services, and turn our back on promising, talented young people who want our country to success. I’m hopeful that Congress will do the right thing and fix this problem right away, but if they do not, we’ll be ready to defend Virginia DREAMers in court.”

Besides Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington are among the states that have filed the complaint.

Any DACA application submitted after Sept. 5 will no longer be accepted, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

 

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans

 

 

Dreamers of Virginia complete 70-mile walk to support immigration rights in Richmond

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After walking 70 miles along Route 250 from Charlottesville to Richmond, the Dreamers of Virginia came to their four-day journey’s completion at the Bell Tower this afternoon.

This small, Virginia-based organization focuses on immigration rights in America and advocates for protecting immigrants and their families. The Dreamers made their trek through Central Virginia to stand against President Trump’s threat to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

“DACA has been the first victory we’ve had in over 30 years,” said Lizzette Arias, the deportation defense co-leader with Dreamers of Virginia. “Finally, after so much organizing, we get DACA, and now that victory is going to be taken away. We can’t just sit and watch it be taken away.”

The group of 10 walked between eight and 12 hours per day, taking only an hour lunch break and sleeping in various houses throughout their walk. Volunteers opted to allow the Dreamers to stay the night, many of them members of the clergy, such as a minister’s house.

“I felt like it was the least I could do for the immigrant community,” said Reuben Chavez, one of the walkers. “My mom is an immigrant, two of my sisters are immigrants and I have a lot of family that are immigrants. It just makes sense to do something for them and give back.”

Each walker took on various tasks to ensure the safety of the entire group, from ensuring they stayed on schedule to something as simple as carrying speakers down the road to provide music for their hike.

Much of the road on Route 250 isn’t easily accessible to pedestrians, as the group was forced to walk single-file for several miles along the route without sidewalks. Fortunately, no one had any serious issues and they made a safe journey to Richmond.

“We have some nasty blisters, let me tell you,” said Arias.

Arias benefits from DACA as her parents traveled to America as undocumented immigrants from Bolivia to search for better opportunities for themselves and their daughter. Many of those who walked to Richmond have family members who are immigrants.

Reuben Chavez, Dreamers of Virginia

“My mother was an immigrant,” said Jeffrey Fuentes, another walker. “When she came to this country, she had to leave my older sister behind for an entire year before she saw her again. Then my sister came to this country. I think it would be ignorant for me to see what they went through and me not do anything or close the door behind everybody else struggling to get over here.”

In 2012, the Obama administration implemented DACA as a new policy for undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors to ensure a waiting period of two years before threat of deportation, as well as eligibility for a working permit. Unfortunately, recent statements from the Trump administration suggest the end of the program is near.

“All of us walking agree that we want permanent protection and dignity for everyone, all 11 million undocumented immigrants here,” Arias said. “That’s why we walked. We can’t sit and wait until stuff happens for us, we have to demand it.”

The perceived threat of immigration is one of the many things a recent outcropping of white supremacist groups have used as a platform for their ideology, however, the Dreamers of Virginia hope to send a message of determination, acceptance, and respect for themselves and other immigrants.

“If there’s someone behind you like there was for us in the walk, it’s possible,” Arias said. “You can walk 70 miles. You can do it. You can do anything.”