The torch wielders -- reported to be several dozen by local paper Daily Progress -- were reacting to a November 28 city council vote to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at Charlottesville’s Lee Park, the public space where the protest took place Saturday.
A court injunction has halted the removal of the statue for six months, but that didn't stop the protesters, led by avowed white nationalist Richard Spencer, from reportedly chanting slogans like "we will not be replaced," “Russia is our friend” and “blood and soil ” at the site of the statue.
Mike Signer, the mayor of Charlottesville, expressed his disgust with Saturday's protest in an interview with ABC News.
"I think it's horrific," he said of the protests. "We're a city that proudly values our diversity."
