Unite the Right: Neo-Nazi rally outside White House falls flat after only 20 far-right supporters turn up

March falls on anniversary of violent protests last year in Virginia that left one dead

Counter demonstrators lined up and pushed against a police barricade in DC outside of the White House (AFP/Getty Images)

A neo-Nazi rally outside the White House has fallen flat after about 20 white nationalists were dwarfed by thousands of counter-protesters.

The march in Washington came a year after an infamous gathering of far-right extremists in the Virginia town of Charlottesville, which left one woman dead after a man drove a car into a group of anti-fascists.

In the capital on Sunday, dozens of police formed a tight cordon around the small group of white nationalists, separating them from shouting counter-protesters within view of the White House.

Donald Trump, who a year ago defended white nationalists as featuring "fine people", was not in Washington, having been at his golf club in New Jersey for more than a week on a working holiday.

Jason Kessler, the principal organiser of last year's "Unite the Right" event, led the Sunday gathering he called a white civil rights rally in Lafayette Square.

Mr Kessler said in a permit application that he expected 100 to 400 people to participate, but the actual number was far lower: only around 20.

Counter-protesters, who assembled before the rally's scheduled start, vastly outnumbered Mr Kessler's crowd. Thousands showed up to jeer and shout insults at the white nationalists.

Makia Green, who represents the Washington branch of Black Lives Matter, told Sunday's crowd: "We know from experience that ignoring white nationalism doesn't work."

By about 5pm, those in Mr Kessler's group packed into a pair of white vans and left, escorted by police.

Washington police chief Peter Newsham said only one person was arrested all day despite several tense moments, with police essentially shielding the white nationalist demonstrators from several thousand enraged counter-protesters.

Mr Newsham called it "a well-executed plan to safeguard people and property while allowing citizens to express their First Amendment rights".

The demonstrations – a similar counter-protest was seen in Charlottesville about a mile away from where 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed last year – had pushed officials in the area to announce states of emergency, preparing for the potential that the demonstrations would once again turn violent.

While verbal clashes were heard – counter protesters denounced “fascists” at a Virginia metro station while nationalist demonstrators were guided onto a train – the relative calm came in contrast to the violence seen one year ago, when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, protesting the proposed plan to remove a Confederate memorial in the city.

Those demonstrations descended into violence after the two sides – some on the right armed with firearms, and some on the left with shields and clubs – met, and several people were injured. Later, a white supremacist drove his vehicle through a group of counter protesters who had gathered peacefully on a street.

The events in Charlottesville in 2017 shocked the country, and were met with shifting responses from Mr Trump, who condemned racism and violence before also drawing a moral equivalence between white supremacist protesters and the counter demonstrators who had come to protest racist tendencies in America.

James Fields Jr, 21, of Maumee, Ohio, is charged in state court with murder in Ms Heyer's killing and faces separate hate crime charges in federal court. He pleaded not guilty last month to the federal charges.

The day's death toll rose to three when a state police helicopter crashed, killing lieutenant Jay Cullen and trooper-pilot Berke Bates.

“The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division. We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence,” Mr Trump said in his latest comments on the issue on Saturday. "Peace to ALL Americans!”

As Mr Trump sent out that message, though, demonstrators had once again gathered in that college town to mark the occasion – with the voices of the anti-white supremacy crowd reportedly carrying the day.

Those protesters, seeing little opposition from the white supremacists who had convened in large numbers just a year before, instead criticised the police presence there – calling out with chants and signs the presence they said targeted people of colour in the United States while also preserving a status quo that has allowed what has been seen as a resurgence of white nationalism in the US.

Among the other anniversary events was a Sunday morning community gathering at a park that drew more than 200 people. The group sang and listened to speakers, among them Courtney Commander, a friend of Ms Heyer's who was with her when she was killed.

"She is with me today, too," Ms Commander said.

Law enforcement officials faced blistering criticism after last year's rally for what was perceived as a passive response to the violence that unfolded. A review by a former US attorney found a lack of coordination between state and city police and an operational plan that elevated officer safety over public safety.

The anniversary weekend was marked by a much heavier police presence, which also drew criticism from some activists.

Demonstrators on Sunday marched through Charlottesville chanting, "Cops and Klan go hand in hand," and "Will you protect us?"

The city of Charlottesville said four people were arrested in the downtown area.

Two arrests stemmed from a confrontation near the Lee statue where a Spotsylvania, Virginia, man stopped to salute, a Charlottesville woman confronted him and a physical altercation took place, officials said.

Additional reporting by AP