PUTNEY — On Friday and Saturday (Aug. 10, 11) in Charlottesville, Virginia, white supremacist extremists terrorized the people of Charlottesville and the nation when they burned torches and chanted hate speech against Jews, African-Americans, and the LGBTQ community. Their goal was to come out of the shadows and take their online activity to the streets. They traveled from states all around the country, came armed, beat people, ran their cars into people, killed a person, and led to the death of two police officers.
The Putney Democrats stand against all forms of violence and hate speech perpetrated by the white supremacist terrorists, the KKK, the Neo-Nazis, and the Alt-Right.
We stand in solidarity with the families that lost loved ones over the weekend, with the victims of attacks, with people of color, Jews, and the LGBTQ community.
We call on President Trump to denounce the hate speech and violence that is being perpetrated by the KKK, the Alt-Right, the Neo-Nazis, and other extremists.
We acknowledge that racial and religious discrimination have been and continue to be a key part of our nation's and communities's history. That the violence and hate that were expressed this past weekend are the most recent expression of the violence oppressed peoples have suffered in our nation for hundreds of years. That our lives can be used to transform, to create healing and love, and to challenge racism and religious persecution.
As the white supremacist extremists prepare a new round of rallies this coming weekend in cities around the country, we commit to building equality, justice, and non-violence. We invite you to join us as we build this work in Putney, in Windham County, in Vermont, and across our Nation.