Alexandria's Richard Spencer Backs Out Of Torch March

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Richard Spencer, who has set up his white nationalist group in Alexandria, is backing out of an "anti-communist" march in Charlotte N.C. a few days after Christmas. The march was cancelled in light of Spencer's decision.

The group organizing the Dec. 28 “March Against Communism” event in Marshall Park, Anti-Communist Action, had urged participants to carry torches, and carry guns and flags, The Charlotte Observer reported.

News of the rally in the wake of violence provoked by white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August prompted Queen City activists and religious leaders to organize their own counter protest for the same day. Event organizer Jibril Hough told Talking Points Memo that the event featuring music and political speeches would go on, “even if they don’t show up,” in order to “allow us to show our diversity and a united front,” TPM reported Thursday.

The open setting of a city park, however, proved to be the rally’s undoing, according to organizers. “In light of safety concerns, we’ll no longer be holding an event in Marshall Park. This was agreed upon by both organizers and guests,” the group AntiCom said in a tweet Thursday morning.

Like Old Town Alexandria Patch on Facebook and continue reading below.

The cancellation announcement followed a series of tweets by Spencer, who said the rally’s venue had changed several times since he had agreed to speak, “when the rally was planned for a private, hotel venue.” The venue was then moved to a university facility after the hotel backed out, and then to Marshall Park.

“After thinking it over, I informed the organizers on Monday that I have to cancel my appearance,” Spencer said. “I can handle my own security. I worry about the safety of others in an open-field situation. Open-field rallies are dangerous at this point, but still possible. But we can’t trust Charlotte’s municipal authorities.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department took to social media to address the rally plans, but said the group had not formally sought a permit or responded to their inquiries. By Sept. 27, CMPD had received more than 600 emails and phone calls about the protest, it said.

Despite the rally cancellation, some white nationalist groups have stated on social media they intend to march in Charlotte on Dec. 28.

Alexandria residents have also directed protests against Spencer, who moved his think tank, the National Policy Institute, to Old Town after Donald Trump's election. Since then, activists have protested outside his door in hopes of driving him out of the city.

Others organized a protest outside his door after he participated in the "Unite the Right" rally that turned violent in Charlottesville. But Alexandria officials' hands are tied since Spencer signed a lease, and the city can't simply kick out someone with unpopular views.

Spencer had led other white nationalist protests in Charlottesville to protest the decision to the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue. A few days later, he was ousted from an Old Town gym when a Georgetown University professor confronted him and called him a Nazi.

An Alexandria protester told Alexandria Gazette Packet this month that protests would go on until Spencer leaves the city.

Reporting in North Carolina by Patch Editor Kimberly Johnson

Pictured is Richard Spencer, a leader in the "alt-right" that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism. Image by David J. Phillip/Associated Press