Counterprotesters outnumber white supremacists at Washington, D.C., rally

A white supremacist rally participant surrounded by police officers.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Organizers of the white supremacist Unite the Right 2 rally expected hundreds of supporters to attend the event Sunday in Washington, D.C., but just 24 or so showed up, CNN reports.

Jason Kessler, the organizer of the event, said more people would have shown up but many were confused about transportation. There were at least 1,000 counterprotesters, who shouted, "Nazis go home!" and "Shame! Shame! Shame!" The first Unite the Right rally one year ago in Charlottesville, Virginia, was violent and ended in the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer.

During Sunday's rally, participants listened to a few impromptu speakers, and not long after left in several white vans. One white nationalist told CNN there weren't very many supporters at the rally because "people are scared to come out after what happened last year."

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.