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Anti-fascist activists pay tribute to Heather Heyer, march on Downtown Mall

About 30-40 anti-fascist activists gathered at a memorial to Heather Heyer and then held a peaceful march down the Downtown Mall Saturday

<p>The activists marched along the Downtown Mall with fists raised in the air.&nbsp;</p>

The activists marched along the Downtown Mall with fists raised in the air. 

About 30 to 40 anti-fascist activists gathered at a memorial to Heather Heyer and then held a peaceful march down the Downtown Mall Saturday afternoon on the one-year anniversary weekend of the violent white supremacist Unite the Right rally. 

Heyer, a 32-year old Charlottesville resident, was killed last year when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters on Fourth Street during the violent aftermath of the ill-fated rally downtown. James Fields Jr. now faces numerous charges in connection with the attack. 

Activists stood with their arms linked and fists in the air at the site where Heyer was killed last year and held a moment of silence. 

One activist held a banner that read ‘Good Night Alt-Right’, and others wrote messages of remembrance in chalk on the adjacent brick wall where the memorial is located and along the pavement of Fourth Street — honorarily designated as ‘Heather Heyer Way’ by the city last October. 

Afterward, the activists marched along the Downtown Mall with fists raised in the air for a brief period as many onlookers cheered in support. The marchers sang ‘Solidarity forever for the Union makes us strong’ as they exited the mall through the Third Street security checkpoint established by law enforcement personnel earlier that morning. 

Law enforcement personnel were present along the mall during the march but did not engage the activists or try to obstruct their path of travel. 

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