The internet is a beautiful thing. It gives us access to YouTube videos, a wide array of sources and texts that would otherwise be inaccessible to us and it also serves as a form of vigilante justice. By now, everyone knows of the Charlottesville protests. For those who are unaware, white supremacists were protesting the decision made by the city of Charlottesville to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee who was a Confederate general.
As pictures and videos flooded the internet, a Twitter account known as ‘Yes, You’re Racist is publicly outing those who attended the rally.
The goal of the account is to put a name on the faces that were there at the white nationalist protest.
The user of the account also asked their followers to provide the names and social media profiles of anyone they knew or recognized from the protests.
The Hill
On Twitter, the caption read: ‘if you recognize any of the Nazis marching in Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I’ll make them famous. #GoodNightAltRight.’
TwitterSo far, nine people have been outed by the Twitter account and one of those protesters is named Cole White.
Twitter
According to the Twitter account, Cole White is a cook at a popular hot dog chain in California (Top Dog) and was the first person to be named. He has since been fired from his position.
Twitter
A spokesman of Top Dog confirmed that Cole had indeed been fired and a notice placed outside of the chain proves just that.
Twitter
Another individual that was identified was Peter Cvjetanovic, who is a student from Reno, Nevada. The president of The University of Nevada has confirmed that one of their students was at the protest but did not name the individual.
TwitterHowever, in an interview with KTVN, Peter said: ‘I did not expect the photo to be shared as much as it was. I understand the photo has a very negative connotation. But I hope that the people sharing the photo are willing to listen that I’m not the angry racist they see in that photo.’
Twitter
He continued on by saying: ‘as a white nationalist, I care for all people. We all deserve a future for our children and for our culture. White nationalists aren’t all hateful; we just want to preserve what we have.’
Twitter
Although many have called for the expulsion of Peter, he says that his attendance at the rally was merely his right to exercise the First Amendment (Freedom of Speech.)
Twitter
Peter said: ‘I committed no acts of violence, and dispersed when told that the rally had become illegal. Therefore I did nothing illegal at that rally. I am allowed to express my political beliefs and if UNR does expel me, then it is a clear violation of my first amendment.’
TwitterThe Southern Poverty Law Center has stated the ‘Unite the Right’ rally is ‘the largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States.’
Twitter
The Center went on to say that the protest attracted large amounts of people who expressed far-right extremist values.
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