CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WINA) – Jason Kessler was on the Downtown Mall Saturday night, only this time the people who surrounded him and his guests were not members of an organized protest but individuals, several of whom had no problem with taking Kessler or members of his entourage head-on.
Proud Boys is a a self-described pro-Western fraternal organization that supports minimal government and maximum freedom, is anti-political correctness, anti-racial guilt, and venerates entrepreneurs and housewives. The group’s main goal is “reinstating a spirit of Western chauvinism during an age of globalism and multiculturalism.” Instead of alt-right, they describe themselves as alt-light.
But the group is also known for flirting with violence. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Proud Boys’ fourth and final step of initiation is brawling with antifascists at pubic rallies.
Posts on Kessler’s Facebook page and Twitter account gave ample warning, so Charlottesville Police officers were out in force all along the Downtown Mall. Kessler and Proud Boys arrived around 7 p.m. and there were no incidents for more than two hours, but patrons and visitors along the mall did notice the group. At one point, the group was divided with several members in front of Miller’s. When they left, their departure was met with a round of applause. Later, Kessler and Proud Boys gathered at the Violet Crown, where they were refused service.
It was then that tensions grew. But unlike three earlier visits to the Downtown Mall, Kessler and his friends were not met with a group of chanters organized by SURJ Charlottesville. Instead, individuals approached them. Some expressed anger, others frustration, and some even scorned Kessler.
At one point, Kessler apparently made body contact with an officer.
“I came near the police officer, and he laid hands on me!” Kessler shouted as he live-streamed his visit to the mall. “This police officer right here laid hands on me, I didn’t touch him!”
“What in the world are you dreaming about?” cried out an onlooker. “You are dreaming, bud! Come on, at least say something real. Don’t lie about it.”
“What are you trying to prove, dude?” snapped another person. “I’m just not okay with this.”
Eventually, there were scores surrounding Kessler, Proud Boys and police, with well over a dozen not afraid to speak directly with Kessler or members of Proud Boys in a hodge-podge of onlookers, members of the alt-right, and people more than happy to let them know they were not welcome.
Proud Boys and Kessler eventually left. Things went smoothly until a man came upon the group in a stairwell in the Market Street Parking Garage. The man, who asked his name not be used, said they started to shout at him and one spat on him. He went to Charlottesville Police headquarters to file a charge. A magistrate was not available, but the man vowed to return Sunday and see that a warrant be served.
