At least one killed in US white supremacist rally violence

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At least one person was killed and over 30 were injured on Saturday when a car plowed into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The deceased was a 32-year-old female pedestrian whose identity was yet to be confirmed.

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, the driver of the vehicle, was arrested and police are treating the case as criminal homicide. He is being held on charges including second-degree murder.

Headshot of the suspect, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, the driver of the vehicle /AFP Photo

Another 16 were wounded in other violence related to the far-right march, local police department said.

The FBI said it has opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances that led a driver to plow a car into a crowd.

Two troopers also died in a Virginia State Police helicopter crash while patrolling near the violence in Charlottesville, federal officials said. It was not clear if the crash was related to the outbreak of clashes in the Southern college town.

Violent clashes erupt at ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Va. /Reuters Photo

What's the protest about?

The incident happened amid clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters. The car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters who were marching against the "pro-white" rally.

The "Unite the Right" march was protesting the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E Lee, who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.

A group of counter-protesters rallies against members of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va, Aug. 12, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The violence in Charlottesville, a liberal college town, is a stark demonstration of the growing political divide in the US, which has intensified since Donald Trump won the election last year, BBC reported

Virginia Governor asks white supremacists to "go home"

After the violence erupted, President Donald Trump condemned the clash. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides," he told reporters at his New Jersey golf course.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, declared an emergency and told a press conference: "I have a message to all the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple: go home. You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you. You pretend that you're patriots, but you are anything but a patriot."

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