Mayor Tweets ‘GO HOME’ After Killer Driver Plows Car Into Virginia Protesters

Image by Getty Images

By Dave Goldiner August 12, 2017

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer pleaded for calm after a car plowed into a crowd of demonstrators protesting a gathering of white supremacists in the Virginia college town, killing at least one person.

I am furious & heartsick by the car crash that has injured many. Please all-go home to your families. We can work tomorrow. GO HOME! PLEASE!

— Mike Signer (@MikeSigner) August 12, 2017

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Signer, who is Jewish, later said at least one person was killed.

I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here. I urge all people of good will—go home.

— Mike Signer (@MikeSigner) August 12, 2017

Video footage showed the driver apparently intentionally driving into a group of protesters opposed to the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who gathered for a rally downtown.

That suggested the driver might be a supporter of the far right groups that called the torch-lit rally in the normally peaceful town.

Signer earlier blamed President Trump for fanning the flames of hatred with his divisive rhetoric and policies.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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