Hundreds of fascists hold torchlight rally, Nazi pulls gun at Charlottesville Wal-Mart as action starts a day early

UPDATE 8-12: The torchlight parade was intended to march on and disrupt a speech in a church by Dr Cornell West. They were stopped short of their goal but the church was evacuated as a precaution.

How things went down in opposing the "surprise" Nazi torchlight rally, Tropophobe reporting via Twitter:

111PM Cops move in on protesters after Nazis leave

10:33PM Nazi leader Chris Cantwell maced, down

10:33PM Cops now reported on scene

10:31PM: Nazis fire mace at counterprotesters

10:29PM: Fight reported just as livestream went down

10:25PM First counterprotesters show up against 300-500 nazis at torchlight rally Video of counterprotesters chanting "Black Lives Matter"

10:20PM:Video-Nazis hold torchlight rally at U-VA discuss military tactics there

7PM: Richard Spencer, David Duke spotted at Boar's Head resort

At about 10:30PM, the shit hit the fan early as several hundred neo-Nazis staged a pre-Charlottesville torchlight rally at University of Virginia. They were confronted by protesters chanting "Black Lives Matter" and the pepper spray or mace began to fly. There is a report of Nazis firing mace at anti-fascist protesters, but in the end it was neo-Nazi leader Chris Cantwell on the ground and minus his shirt after being maced. This may have been "friendly fire": Lacy MacAuley confirms medics treated a number of student protesters maced by the Nazis.

Somewhere around 10:30PM on the 11th of August, Twitter videographer Chris Suarez managed to get this 12 second clip of the hundreds strong neo-Nazi torchlight rally on the grounds of U-VA, and this clip of counterprotesters chanting "Black Lives Matter"

This is the night before the potentially major showdown in and around what the alt-right calls "Lee Park" where the City of Charlottesville has been blocked in court from removing a Confederate statue. Supposedly up to 4,000 Nazis, KKK members, and and frog-kissing MAGAts will be at the "Unite the Right" rally noon on August 12, but only 4-500 were at this tochlight rally.

At or around Noon also on the 11th of August, that same neo-Nazi (Chris Cantwell) pulled his gun after his "secret" meeting a day early turned out not to be so secret. About 30 of his followers turned up at Wal-Mart for speeches, and Lacy Macauley reports

Cantwell's tailgate party "raided." At some point a customer in the store reported Cantell drawing his gun and police became involved. As of 1PM the incident is reported to have ended

Things are already getting ugly in Charlottesville, with a drawn gun involved in the very first skirmish of what could be the mother of all battles between progressive forces and the alt-right. Predictions for Nazi turnout range from about 1,000 to as high as 4,000m, and a regional mobilization is determined to stop them. Counterprotesters range from church groups to hard-core antifascist activists to everyone in between.

Many thousands of people ranging from faith-based groups to hardcore antifa fighters are expected to make an all-out effort to stop this overt call for genocide and white supremacy tomorrow. The "Unite the right" organizers have publicly said "next stop, Charlottesville, final stop, Auschwitz" but THEY SHALL NOT PASS!