Posted on 08/16/2017 6:10:46 AM PDT by csvset
ACLU fires back at Gov. McAuliffe after comments on violence at Charlottesville rally
Posted 9:35 pm, August 14, 2017, by Vernon Freeman Jr., Updated at 11:25PM, August 14, 2017 ACLU fires back at Gov. McAuliffe after comments on violence at Charlottesville rally
RICHMOND, Va. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is responding to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe after they say he blamed the organization for the violence in Charlottesville Saturday.
The remarks in question came when the governor spoke on NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday morning.
“The City of Charlottesville asked for that to be moved out of downtown Charlottesville to a park about a mile and a half away to a park with a lot of open fields. That was the place where it should have been,” McAuliffe said. “We were unfortunately sued by the ACLU. The judge ruled against us. That rally should not have been in the middle of downtown.”
ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastanaga said in no way was their lawsuit cause the violence Saturday afternoon.
“We are horrified by the violence that took place in Charlottesville on Saturday and the tragic loss of life that resulted from it,” said Gastanaga.
“But let’s be clear: our lawsuit challenging the city to act constitutionally did not cause violence nor did it in any way address the question whether demonstrators could carry sticks or other weapons at the events.”
Gastanaga said the role of the ACLU is to ensure that the system works the same for everyone.
“We asked the city to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and ensure people’s safety at the protest. It failed to do so,” she wrote.
Gastanaga said that it is the responsibility of law enforcement to ensure safety of both protesters and counter-protesters. She went on to say that policing on Saturday was not effective in preventing violence.
“I was there and brought concerns directly to the secretary of public safety and the head of the Virginia State Police about the way that the barricades in the park limiting access by the arriving demonstrators and the lack of any physical separation of the protesters and counter-protesters on the street were contributing to the potential of violence,” said Gastanaga. “They did not respond. In fact, law enforcement was standing passively by, seeming to be waiting for violence to take place, so that they would have grounds to declare an emergency, declare an ‘unlawful assembly’ and clear the area.”
ACLU of Virginia said they hope that McAuliffe and other state and local officials will learn from last weekend’s deadly event.
“It is my firm hope and desire that the governor and other state and local officials will learn from this past weekend how constitutionally to prevent events like the horror we saw in Charlottesville from ever happening again,” Gastanaga wrote.
Its amazing that ACLU is the most reasoned voice in this episode..
No. He needs to be arrested, all of his assets frozen then extradited to the Russian Federation for trial and execution. Then we can get back to the docile, RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA!
Without those assets available to fund the leftist hordes, a goodly portion of this will die right then and there.
the fact is the ACLU is agreeing with Trump that it was violence on both sides
MacAuliffe and the ACLU can blame each other and both be correct.
The ACLU guy wants to put on blinders and look only at the narrow legal question of equal treatment of the two sides, etc., while ignoring the real question: was having both sides in a tiny park in the middle of downtown Charlottesville likely to lead to a violent confrontation that would itself preclude free speech? Was the City actually capable of providing security at Lee Park? The City had already made it clear that it believed it could not. The City had required moving (Dis)Unite the Right’s event permit to a wide open space for exactly that reason. Without the alt-Right rally, the violent left would have little reason to be at Lee Park, and no one to fight with. The argument that the City had a responsibility to protect all parties once the court ordered the event to remain in Lee Park sounds great in a magic world of the ideal, but ignores real capabilities.
MacAulife’s state police took charge of security, and ordered the stand down. Given his aspirations and partisan agenda, there is no way MacAuliffe wanted video of police cracking Antifa and BLH heads to stop their violent attacks. That would quite possibly fuel large scale Baltimore style riots with the town burned down and looted — with the media blaming MacAuliffe instead of the rioters.
The court should have anticipated all of the above and if not the City should have made it part of their argument to move the event. The Unite the Right organizers (possible leftists agents provocateurs) also share blame for not anticipating what would happen and agreeing to move. Irresponsibility and stupidity all around. A plague upon them all.
Left Liberals can be classical liberals sometime
I hate to say it, but I absolutely agree with the ACLU here. They did what they are SUPPOSED to do, defend our civil liberties...and no one needs those protections more than people who are controversial and/or unpopular.
McAwful is a hyper-partisan hack with power, and he cynically used that power to FOMENT violence - all of the blood in Charlottesville is on HIS hands. HE had the state police take over security, and they PURPOSELY funneled the pro-statue people (who had a permit) into the street right where their armed, non-permitted opponents were located. I don’t defend most of those folks, but they have rights - and the moment we deny them theirs, we have forfeited our own.
Trump is 100% right - a pox on BOTH of their houses. BOTH sides did wrong...but at least one side had a legal right to be there.
gowdy is making investigations a lifetime position. If only he would actually be effective.
The AG's investigation of the incident should include the roles of the Governor, the police, the mayor, Antifa and BLM in addition to the roles of any alt-right groups.
Will it?
Why am I not so sure.
Proof or “truth” is whatever the media says it is. They’re in charge.
I’m not purchasing this excrement either. It’s rope-a-dope. Leftists are master’s of this kind of vs.
No, sorry. Soros has a MASSIVE web of subversive family, friends and other fellow travelers who are already on the payrolls of media and business corporations, as well as on his own payroll. Look up “Soros Foundation Family Tree images”
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