Twitter users call out participants of white supremacist rally in Virginia

Several Twitter users called out the participants of the white nationalist rally in the US state of Virginia in which three people were killed and 19 injured, turning a day of violent demonstrations into a tragedy.

Since Sunday, the @YesYoureRacist account on Twitter has been calling on Twitter users to identify participants in the rally with several others joining the cause.

"If you recognize any of the Nazis marching in #Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I'll make them famous #GoodNightAltRight," the tweet from @YesYoureRacist read.

Other accounts (like @shaunking of the NY Daily News) quickly took up the cause and within several hours one of the participants in the rallies had been fired by his employer.

According to ReCode, identifying participants in a public rally by name does not violate Twitter's terms of service. Twitter only suspends accounts if the poster includes private information like a phone number, social security number or home address.

One person was killed after a car mowed down a group of protesters in the city of Charlottesville on Saturday while the two other victims, Virginia State Police Department officers, died when a helicopter crashed nearby, reports The Hill magazine.

The crash is being investigated and it remained unclear if it was connected to the protests.

The University of Virginia Health System said 20 people were hospitalised after the car ploughed into the group of people protesting near a popular pedestrian mall in the college town.

The events on Saturday took place after dozens of white nationalists carrying torches held a rally in Charlottesville on Friday, where they were seen using Nazi salutes.

They were protesting against the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Declaring a state of emergency, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said he was "disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence these protesters have brought to our state over the past 24 hours".

"Go home...You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you."

The demonstrators defied the authorities' attempt to restore order, throwing bottles at one another and using pepper spray in the city's downtown area.

President Donald Trump condemned the violence but did not specifically mention white nationalists, neo-Nazis or their views, instead criticising hatred and violence "on many sides", reports The Hill magazine.

--IANS

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