Developments Since the 2017 Charlottesville Protest

Almost a year ago this week, Charlottesville, Virginia erupted in violence and chaos when white nationalists gathered in the college town to protest the removal of a Confederate statue. By the time the weekend ended, one counterprotester was dead.


Below are some developments that have happened since August 12, 2017.


*   Several white nationalists who participated in the rally in Charlottesville were fired from their jobs when they were identified, often via social media.


*   The white nationalist movement found itself largely excluded from the traditional media outlets as well as mainstream social media platforms.


*   Some of the leaders of the movement were denied PayPal accounts, making it much more difficult to raise money.


*   Dozens of cities moved to take down Confederate statues. Of the 1,700 Confederate memorials across the United States, 55 were removed in 2017.


*   The Southern Poverty Law Center says the number of hate groups in the country has risen from 917 to 954.  Besides white supremacists, they include anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim and black nationalist groups.  It also reports a 22% increase in neo-Nazi groups last year, to 121.


*   The Anti-Defamation League documented 3,023 incidents of extremism or anti-Semitism in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018.


*   Since Charlottesville, the ADL has tracked 54 public events attended by white supremacists.