LOS ANGELES _ Hundreds of protesters marched peacefully through downtown Los Angeles Sunday to denounce the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Va., and to excoriate President Donald Trump.
The demonstrators rallied on the steps of City Hall with speeches condemning racism and xenophobia, then marched through the streets of downtown, chanting "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA," "No Hate, No Fear, Immigrants Are Welcome Here," "Black Lives Matter" and other slogans.
Many brandished signs such as "Stop White Terrorism," "Nazi scum," "White Silence (equals) White Consent," and "There Is Only One Side" _ a reference to Trump's widely criticized remarks blaming the violence on "many sides."
Lydia Avila drove from Pasadena to join the protest, saying she was outraged to see white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other far-right activists "come out of hiding and demonstrate on the streets."
"Trump has given them the courage to come out," said Avila, 29, who works for a social justice nonprofit. "We need to show that we're not going to put up with this, that as a country we're going to fight against racism and white supremacy."
More than a dozen similar events were planned across California. Candlelight vigils and rallies were being held in Oakland, San Francisco, Long Beach, Malibu and Laguna Beach.
"We're here to say, 'No, we're not going to normalize these Nazis and how they feel emboldened,' " Michelle Xai, an organizer with Refuse Fascism Los Angeles, said before the rally. "This is history being written, and we're not going to be those people that just stood back."
Politicians across the country, including Democrats and Republicans, were quick to denounce the racism and violence. But Trump faced criticism from both parties for televised remarks in which he blamed the violence "on many sides" and did not directly criticize white nationalists, whose leaders have openly supported his presidency.
On Saturday night, more than a hundred demonstrators marched in front of Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, chanting, "No justice, no peace" and waving signs that read "Solidarity with Charlottesville," "White Silence (equals) Violence" and "Stop White Terrorists."
The peaceful demonstration came hours after three people were killed and dozens injured around Charlottesville when a rally staged by white nationalists turned violent. The "Unite the Right" rally had been planned as part of a battle over the city's ordered removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Before the rally could even begin, neo-Nazis, white nationalists and other far-right figures began brawling with anti-racism protesters in the streets of the college town. One woman was killed when a driver plowed a sports car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators.
City officials have identified the woman as Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville. The driver was arrested and has been charged with murder. Two state troopers also died when a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed near the city after monitoring the chaos.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined officials from across the country in speaking out against the violence.
In a statement, Garcetti said: "Angelenos and people everywhere condemn these acts of hatred, and are deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries suffered today. We stand with (Charlottesville) Mayor Mike Signer and everyone in his city with hope and prayers for peace to be restored."
Hundreds of protesters also took to the streets in the San Francisco Bay Area late Saturday, with some demonstrators in Oakland setting off fireworks and briefly halting traffic on Interstate 580. In Santa Ana in Orange County, 150 people rallied against racism in Sasscer Park, organizers said.
In El Cajon in San Diego County, about 70 people also held a candlelight vigil Saturday night to show solidarity against the violence.
One speaker called images from Charlottesville "horrifying." Video footage had shown the Dodge Challenger plowing into a crowd of counterprotesters, then backing rapidly away, hitting more people.
Monty Kroopkin spoke at the El Cajon gathering about the extremists in Charlottesville, calling them fascists and neo-Nazis. "We've seen this before, in the '20s in Italy and in the '30s in Germany." He said he hoped the nighttime vigil would show that "there's more of us than there are of them."
The peaceful crowd gathered behind Los Panchos taco shop on Broadway at Mollison Street, the site where Alfred Olango, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot Sept. 27 by an El Cajon police officer.
