This post has been updated to include a statement from Bill Burke.
An Athens County man was seriously injured Saturday morning while counter-protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The attack killed one person and injured at least 19 others. Bill Burke, a resident of Hockingport, suffered significant head injuries after a car struck him and other counter-protesters, according to a Facebook post by his wife, Annie Jeffers Burke.
“Bill Burke has been one of the injured in this war of hate,” Jeffers Burke said in the post. “He has sustained significant head injuries and requires staples and stitches and a stay in the hospital.”
According to the post, Burke was conscious and able to communicate with his wife, tearfully telling her that he laid on the ground beside a woman who he didn’t think survived.
A YouCaring campaign has since been set up to help Burke with medical costs. By Sunday evening, it had surpassed its $10,000 goal. The campaign was set up by the Athens branch of the International Socialist Organization, which Burke is a member of.
In a statement posted to the Athens branch of the International Socialist Organization, Burke said he appreciated the support he had received.
“I hope that what the fascists did is a wake up call for our side,” Burke said in the statement. “Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism: the right wingers represent all the worst parts of this capitalist system. If we really want to stop them, we have to be better organized and fight in solidarity against all oppression.”
In a statement, the Athens branch of the International Socialist Organization said the attack is part of a growing threat from fascism.
“The solidarity so many people are giving to Bill and other victims is greatly appreciated,” the International Socialist Organization statement reads. “Unfortunately, we know that the fascist threat is real and growing, and it cannot be stopped by any politician or the police. Only masses of people, standing in solidarity with the most oppressed people in our society, like Bill did, can confront and stop the fascist threat.”
Burke had gone to Charlottesville to counter-protest a “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally held in response to the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Tensions began to rise on Friday night, when a tiki torch-wielding mob of white supremacists brawled with counter-protesters near a monument of Thomas Jefferson.
On Saturday, the day of the rally, clashes broke out between white supremacist demonstrators and counter-protesters, resulting in a total of 34 injuries, including the 19 injuries and one death that occurred from the car attack, according to The New York Times.
The car attack took place near Charlottesville’s downtown mall after most white supremacists had left. Witnesses said a gray sports car sped into a crowd of counter protesters before quickly backing out of the area.
Later on Saturday evening, police arrested and identified the suspected driver of the vehicle as James Alex Fields, a 20-year-old man from Maumee. Fields had been photographed earlier holding a shield with members of Vanguard America, a white supremacist group whose manifesto states, “a multicultural nation is no nation at all.”
Vanguard America released a statement on their Twitter account claiming the man was not one of their members.
“The driver of the vehicle that hit counterprotesters today was, in no way, a member of Vanguard America,” the statement reads. “All our members had been safely evacuated by the time of the incident. The shields seen do not denote membership, nor does the white shirt. The shirts were freely handed out to anyone in attendance.”
According to The New York Times, police have charged Fields with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and failing to stop at the scene of a crash that resulted in a death. Police refused to publicly say he was the driver of the car.
Officials have identified Heather Heyer, 32, as the woman killed in the attack. She grew up in Greene County, Virginia, and worked as a legal assistant at a law firm, according to CNBC.
The headline of this post has been updated to clarify that Burke was a part of the counterrally.
