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| Charlottesville: State of emergency over US far-right rally | Charlottesville: State of emergency over US far-right rally |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Officials in Charlottesville in the US state of Virginia have declared a state of emergency ahead of a large march by white nationalists. | Officials in Charlottesville in the US state of Virginia have declared a state of emergency ahead of a large march by white nationalists. |
| Thousands of people are expected to join the "Unite the Right" rally against plans to remove a statue of a pro-slavery US Civil War general. | Thousands of people are expected to join the "Unite the Right" rally against plans to remove a statue of a pro-slavery US Civil War general. |
| Violent clashes between far-right groups and counter-protesters have left at least two injured, police say. | |
| President Donald Trump has condemned the violence. | |
| On Twitter, he said: "We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!" | |
| Earlier, police fired tear gas against demonstrators, who were throwing bottles and using pepper spray, and said that arrests had been made after a declaration of unlawful assembly at Emancipation Park. | |
| The state of emergency allows local authorities to request additional resources if needed, the police department said. | The state of emergency allows local authorities to request additional resources if needed, the police department said. |
| The far-right protesters, some waving Confederate flags, carrying shields and wearing helmets, are angry about the planned removal of a statue of Gen Robert E Lee from Charlottesville. Gen Lee commanded the Confederate forces in the US Civil War of 1861-65. | |
| The New York Times reports that some of them were chanting "You will not replace us," and "Jew will not replace us." | |
| Anti-racism organisations such as Black Lives Matter have also held marches. | |
| Shiquan Rah, a 21-year-old demonstrator who had joined the counter-protest said about the far-right groups: "These people don't have a message, their message is hate and violence. This is a spiritual war we're in." | |
| The BBC's Joel Gunter in Charlottesville says the demonstrators seem to be dispersing after "extremely violent" clashes. | |
| Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe urged calm tweeting: "The acts and rhetoric in #Charlottesville over past 24 hours are unacceptable [and] must stop. A right to speech is not a right to violence." | |
| First Lady Melania Trump also condemned the violence, saying on Twitter: "Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate [without] hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence." | |
| US Civil War and alt-right links | |
| The rise of the alt-right | |
| The hoax about desecration of US Civil War graves | |
| Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer had earlier called the rally a "parade of hatred, bigotry, racism and intolerance". | |
| On Friday, the white nationalists held lit torches - which some observers described as a reference to the Ku Klux Klan - and chanted "White lives matter" as they marched through the University of Virginia in the city. | |
| Charlottesville is considered a liberal college town - and 86% of the county voted for Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential elections. | |
| However, the town has become a focal point for white nationalists after the city council voted to remove a statue of Gen Lee. | |
| Some observers also argue that US President Donald Trump's election to the White House re-energised the far right across the US. |