For about a month, local law enforcement
agencies had planned how to keep Spencer sup-
porters from around the country—whom they
expected to be armed and hostile—separate
from the protesters, mostly angry students, and
what to do if they encountered one another. The
potential for violence was high, and three days
before the speech, Florida Governor Rick Scott
declared a state of emergency. The night before
the speech, Delbrey was told that he would be
stationed inside the auditorium, in front of the
stage, the last line of defense for Spencer. “It was
kind of mixed feelings for me when I found out,
being a military man and fighting for rights, for
the Constitution, but knowing what he preaches,”
Delbrey says. “Why am I protecting someone who
preaches things I don’t believe? I had to keep in
mind that this is what I signed up for.”
On Oct. 19, a SWAT team was on campus, heli-
copters were in the sky, and emergency respond-
ers stood by. The university sealed off roads, closed
buildings, and canceled some classes. Inside the
auditorium, students and other protesters shouted
Charlottesville,
Va.
Aug. 12
Many of the 85 or so
businesses along the city’s
eight-block pedestrian
mall opened their doors on
Aug. 12, even as thousands
of white nationalists and
militia members marched
to nearby Emancipation
Park for the Unite the Right
Rally. A few minutes after
noon, when violent clashes
with counterprotesters
persuaded Governor
Terry McAuliffe to declare
a state of emergency,
most everyone closed up
shop. About an hour later,
Heather Heyer was killed
and 19 others injured when
a white nationalist drove
into a crowd.
“We don’t have a way
to calculate the losses
from that weekend,”
says Joan Fenton, owner
of Quilts Unlimited and
chair of the Downtown
Business Association. The
Charlottesville Regional
Chamber of Commerce
does. It reports that sales
tax revenue declined
11.8 percent in September
from the year before.
“Those creeps invaded
our town, hijacked our
identity, and caused
tremendous damage to
our business community
and our psyche,” says
Timothy Hulbert, the
chamber’s president. Even
if the city offers a recovery
package, Fenton expects
that some businesses
will close and that it will
be at least a year before
Charlottesville recovers.
“We’ve been branded,”
she says.$50,347
Law enforcementPolice logistics,
including:$14,176
Barriers$2,900
Lodging$2,414
Pizza$562
down Spencer, who insulted them and left the
stage early. The protesters then chased his sup-
porters off campus. Three white nationalists from
Texas were arrested after one fired a single shot
into the crowd.
Spencer says his talks are supposed to “make
a splash,” and by that measure he considers the
event, such as it was and as expensive as he says
it was for him, a success. So does the univer-
sity: The violence was brief and caused no seri-
ous injury. But the school spent far more than
Spencer—some $600,000, much of it for overtime
for the hundreds of security personnel. That fig-
ure doesn’t account for the untold hours spent
calming anxious students and planning an alter-
native rally on the other side of campus.
Was it worth it? “Yes,” says Delbrey. “Free
speech is what the nation is founded on. If we
stop him, someone could stop others who are
worth listening to. Everybody has the right to
freedom of speech. But we have the freedom to
listen—or not. He can talk, but youl don’t have
to listen.”SOURCE: CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT,
CHARLOTTESVILLE
REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCEJanuary 29, 2018