Sullivan says there were ‘contradictory and misleading details’ about white nationalist torchlit march

‘Alt-right’ protesters did not follow march route shared with police, U.Va. president says
by Eliza Haverstock | Aug 16 2017 | 9 hours ago

University President Teresa Sullivan said in a community email Tuesday that prior to a white supremacist torchlit march through Grounds that turned violent, members of the white nationalist “alt-right” shared “contradictory and misleading details” with the University Police Department.

Last Friday, hundreds of white nationalists marched through Grounds, starting at Nameless Field, and then walking around campus to the statue of Thomas Jefferson north of the Rotunda, where they clashed with counter-protesters. This came the day before the “Unite the Right” rally and accompanying protests that resulted in a car plowing through a crowd of protesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 other people.

Sullivan said the white nationalist protesters marched a different route than their leaders had communicated to the UPD on Friday, when law enforcement became aware on social media of a potential protest at the Rotunda. ... “There were contradictory and misleading details about events, locations, routes, and timing,” Sullivan said.

“The alt-right protesters did not do what they had said they were planning to do,” she added. “They did not follow the route they had indicated — along University Avenue to gather on the large open space on the north side plaza of the Rotunda — and instead traveled down McCormick Road and onto the Lawn.”