The PTB wanted to "teach the alt-right a lesson," and they did.
The PTB wanted to "teach the alt-right a lesson," and they did.
It’s not just that.
The rally was declared illegal around 11:30. A lot of the Unite the Right Group relocated to McIntire Park. There are pictures of David Duke speaking to a crowd there.
The homicide occurred around 1:30 at the intersection of 4th and Water St. (I think it was actually on 4th St, but that is the way it has been reported.)
By that time, from the video I have seen, the UTR crowd was mostly gone. But the police let the counter protesters continue to mill around the Downtown Mall for close to 2 hours after they shut down the rally.
What is really odd is the direction that Fields came from. It looks like he came from the direction of Market St, and actually crossed the pedestrian mall. 4th St has been opened up, and traffic is at times allowed to cross the mall there.
The issue as to why 4th St wasn’t barricaded is significant. The former police chief, Tim Longo, has publicly stated that the road is routinely barricaded anytime their is heavy foot traffic along the mall. The current police chief has also stated that 4th should have been barricaded, and he doesn’t know why it wasn’t.
And I have to say, it is really odd that the guy who used to work for the State Dept was right there on 4th street with a camera.