Virginia Governor declares state of emergency before racist rally marking one-year anniversary of bloody Charlottesville protest
Governor Northam and City of Charlottesville Declare States of Emergency for August 10–12 Planned Events Action authorizes local and state resources to pre-stage and coordinate response to keep the peace RICHMOND— Governor Ralph Northam and the City of Charlottesville today declared states of emergency for the Commonwealth and the city to address the potential impacts of events in and around the City of Charlottesville and outside of Washington, D.C., on August 10–12, 2018. Multiple events are planned to mark the anniversary of the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, which resulted in the deaths of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, and Virginia State Police Troopers Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen, III and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates. These state of emergency declarations will enhance planning and cooperative response efforts that have been in development since March. A state of emergency is an administrative tool that allows state agencies to perform actions outside the s...