American Insurrection: How Trump legitimised far-right extremists

Encouraged by Trump, white supremacists simply took off their swastikas and wrapped themselves in the flag. James Rampton on the rise of the right

Right-wing extremists in the US have a dangerously warped sense of patriotism (Frontline (PBS)/ProPublica)

On the night of 11 August 2017, thousands of hard-faced white men assembled for the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ostensibly, they had gathered to protest against the proposed removal of the statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee. However, in reality, their cause was far more wide-ranging and sinister. This was a white supremacist rally.

The white-shirted extremists marched in one long column across the campus of the University of Virginia brandishing burning torches and wielding swastikas. As they gave Nazi salutes, they chanted: “You will not replace us”, “White lives matter”, “Hail Trump” and “Blood and soil” (a translation of Hitler’s notorious slogan about racial purity.) Raw hatred filled the air. It was a chilling moment redolent of history’s darkest days.

Just yards away, reporter AC Thompson looked on in utter horror. Speaking to The Independent from his home in the US, Thompson recalls just how scared he was that night. “It was absolutely terrifying.”