‘White civil rights rally’ set to be held in DC in August — on Charlottesville anniversary

A "white civil rights rally" is set to be held in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11-12 — on the one-year anniversary of the violent Charlottesville, Virginia, protests, according to NPR.

What's a brief history on Charlottesville?

The Charlottesville protests occurred when a "Unite the Right" rally went wildly sour. The "Unite the Right" rally was held to protest the removal of a Confederate statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Protesters and counterprotesters clashed throughout the day on Aug. 12, and a woman was struck and killed by a speeding car, apparently intent on ramming those congregated for the rally.

The 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, did not survive. James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio was charged with second-degree murder after Heyer's death.

About 35 people were injured during the rally, according to Al Jazeera.

What are the details?

According to a Tuesday report by WUSA-TV, the National Park Service approved a preliminary request from Jason Kessler for organizers to hold the second "Unite the Right" rally in August. The National Park Service has yet to issue an official permit for the event.

The rally would be held across the street from the White House on Aug. 11-12. According to a May 8 application, Kessler reported that as many as 400 people could possibly attend the event.

The event's purposes were listed as "protesting civil rights abuse in Charlottesville Va / white civil rights rally." Kessler's application included concerns over Antifa disrupting the rally.

“This year, we have a new purpose,” Kessler said, according to WUSA. “That’s to talk about the civil rights abuse that happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.”

Kessler said that it wasn't his fault that violence broke out between the protesters and counterprotesters during the 2017 event.

“It wasn’t the fault of my group that that stuff happened,” he said. “We’re not able to peacefully assemble. We’re not able to speak.”

Who is Kessler, anyway?

Kessler was one of the co-organizers of 2017's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.

Kessler is a self-proclaimed "white advocate" and an activist blogger.

In 2017, Kessler told ProPublica, “White people are rapidly becoming a minority in the U.S. and Europe. If we’re not able to advocate for ourselves we may go extinct.”

What else?

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, the National Park Service is gathering info in order to be able to issue a permit. Such a permit would note the "timing, boundaries, sound regulations, and liability rules for the event."

A spokesperson for the National Park Service told the Times that "public safety and the protection of park resources are taken into consideration," noting that the National Park Service does not "consider the content of the message presented."

White supremacist Richard Spencer attended last year's event in Charlottesville, but he was not listed on Kessler's permit request.