White Nationalist Richard Spencer Leads Torch-Carrying Crowd in Charlottesville

Dozens of torch-carrying white nationalists held a short rally at the University of Virginia Saturday night, two months after much larger demonstrations turned deadly and set off a political firestorm.

White nationalist Richard Spencer and about 40 to 50 people held another "tiki-torch rally" that lasted up to 10 minutes, according to the Charlottesville Police Department. The group gathered in the recently renamed Emancipation Park around the tarp-covered statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which the city has decided to move.

While "no disorders occurred during this rally," according to a police statement, the event drew condemnation from political leaders.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, called it a "despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards. You're not welcome here! Go home!"Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe tweeted that "We are monitoring this situation as we continue to oppose these racists and their message of hate."

Spencer, a graduate of UVA, and his group then left the park, boarded a tour bus at another location and left the city, police said. Officers followed the bus to ensure that the group was leaving the Charlottesville area.

The city's decision to move the Robert E. Lee statue this summer prompted a larger group of white nationalists to rally on Aug. 11, during which they marched through the university carrying torches and chanting racial slurs.

The following day on Aug. 12, a much bigger gathering of white supremacists, Neo-Nazis and other various hate groups descended into chaos, with attendees and anti-racist counter-protesters brawling in the streets. After authorities forced the crowd to disperse, a car allegedly driven by one of the white nationalists rammed into a group of people protesting the white nationalists, killing counter-demonstrator Heather Heyer and injuring many more.

President Donald Trump was pilloried for his initial response to the August events, which included him condemning bigotry and violence "on many sides."

On Sept. 14, Trump signed a resolution passed by Congress condemning white supremacists, Neo-Nazis and other hate groups.

Spencer popularized the term "alt-right" — an umbrella term for white nationalists and other proponents of far-right ideas — and has espoused racist and anti-Semitic views, calling for “peaceful ethnic cleansing.”

A video of him yelling “hail Trump” and saluting attendees at a conference in Washington, D.C., shortly after President Trump’s election went viral last year, though Spencer later claimed he was being “ironic