We should call evil by its name

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) condemned white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday, saying that World War II veterans, including his brother, didn't fight so Nazi ideas could persist in the United States today.

"We should call evil by its name. My brother didn't give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH," Hatch tweeted, signing the tweet to signal he, not staff, shared it on social media.


Hatch was just eight years old when his brother was killed in World War II. However, he has said it left a lasting mark on the rest of his life and has credited his brother in the past for his own life in public service.

His brother, 20-year-old Jesse, was an Army corporal serving as a nose turret gunner when his B-24 bomber went down over Austria.

Hatch's comments on Saturday were in response to violent clashes between far-right groups and counter-protesters, prompting Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to declare a state of emergency. Police in riot gear ordered demonstrators to disperse as they marched onto the scene Saturday.

White nationalist, white supremacist and alt-right groups were initially scheduled to gather in Charlottesville's Emancipation Park Saturday to protest the city's decision to remove a Confederate statue there.

But as clashes broke out ahead of the so-called "Unite the Right" rally Saturday morning, police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, breaking up the event before it officially began.

McAuliffe confirmed Saturday night that at least three people were killed during the protests.

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