Charlottesville rally ‘planned from Trump Hotel’

Two of the main organizers of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month reportedly planned the demonstration from Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, it was learned on Friday.

Richard Spencer, the head of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, and a colleague at the same think tank, Evan McLaren, were spotted at the hotel in early August, according to The New York Times.

During the evening of August 5, McLaren tweeted: ‘First visit to Trump Hotel [with] Richard Spencer… Observed [British far-right politician] Nigel Farage and [Trump aide] Stephen Miller.’

‘Place to be,’ McLaren wrote in his tweet.

When McLaren was contacted by the Times reporter asking for comment, he told her that he was ‘too busy planning a rally’ in Charlottesville.

Richard Spencer (left), the head of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, and a colleague, Evan McLaren (right), reportedly planned the white supremacist rally  in Charlottesville while staying at Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC

The two men were spotted at the hotel on the evening of August 5. When McLaren was contacted by a New York Times reporter asking for comment, he replied that he was ‘too busy planning a rally’ in Charlottesville

That rally turned out to be the one where white nationalists clashed with anti-fascist protesters.

One alleged white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of protesters, killing one and injuring almost two dozen.

The clashes and the violence shocked the nation.

President Donald Trump’s reaction to the events, whereby he condemned ‘both sides’ while noting that there are ‘very fine people’ among white nationalists and white supremacists, sparked another outcry.

Trump’s response alienated key figures of his administration.

Gary Cohn, the president’s top economic adviser, drafted a letter of resignation over the administration’s weak response to the Charlottesville clashes, but decided to stay on the job, the Times reported on Friday.

Cohn spoke publicly about the controversy for the first time in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, saying the administration needed to clearly reject hate groups.

McLaren was at the hotel the same night he spotted far-right British politician Nigel Farage (left) and White House aide Stephen Miller (right)

During the evening of August 5, McLaren tweeted: ‘First visit to Trump Hotel [with] Richard Spencer… Observed [British far-right politician] Nigel Farage and [Trump aide] Stephen Miller’

He said there was no equivalence between white supremacists or neo-Nazis and those who protest inequality.

‘I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities,’ the former Goldman Sachs president told the newspaper.

‘Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK,’ he added.

Cohn stood nearby during an impromptu Trump Tower news conference as the president insisted there were ‘very fine people on both sides’ in Charlottesville. 

Cohn considered resigning over Trump’s response, both newspapers reported, citing sources.

Cohn went so far as to draft a resignation letter, the Times reported, citing two people familiar with the document.

Cohn said he felt ‘compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks’ and came under intense pressure to quit over Trump’s reaction to the incident but decided against it.

‘As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting “Jews will not replace us” to cause this Jew to leave his job,’ he said, referring to chants by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville.

‘I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them.’