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Article snippet: "both sides" of the rally. While Trump does not repeat that claim in his Saturday tweet, he also does not assign blame for racism. The second iteration of the white nationalist gathering is set to take place in Washington, D.C., this weekend. Events are also planned in and around Charlottesville, where authorities have declared a state of emergency in preparation. White supremacist groups gathered last year to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. They were met by hundreds of counterprotesters, and the competing protests quickly devolved into street clashes. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car was driven into a crowd of counterprotesters. Two Virginia state troopers also died as they were responding to the violence when their helicopter crashed. D.C. officials are already taking security precautions ahead of Sunday’s protest to prevent a repeat of such violence. Police Chief Peter Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowswer (D) announced Thursday that guns would not be allowed at the rally — even for gun owners with legal permits — and that protesters and counterprotesters would be kept separate. Updated at 10:03 a.m. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. Link to the full article to read more