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Reuters
Charlottesville
Joan Fenton knows she will not make much money at her Charlottesville gift shop this weekend, when the downtown district will be virtually locked down for the anniversary of last year's deadly white nationalist rally. But like many other owners, she will be open anyway.
"They want to be open in solidarity with the community,"Fenton said."They feel that not being here is giving in to fear and terror."
Officials in Charlottesville have vowed a massive police presence - with some 1,000 personnel assigned - to deter any violence. The"Unite the Right"rally last August, called to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, turned the picturesque Virginia college town into a chaotic scene of street brawls, and one woman was killed when an Ohio man rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.
The organizer of last year's event, white nationalist Jason Kessler, was denied a permit in Charlottesville this year but has secured permission to hold a demonstration on Sunday in Washington, across the street from the White House.
Washington officials said on Thursday that police were ready for the rally as well as five planned counterprotests that could attract close to 2,000 people in all.
