The Unite the Right rally[4] was a white supremacist[5][6][4][5] rally that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017.[9][10] Protesters were members of the far-right and included self-identified members of the alt-right,[11] neo-Confederates,[12] neo-fascists,[13] white nationalists,[14] neo-Nazis,[15] Klansmen,[16] and various militias.[17] The marchers[citation needed] chanted racist and antisemitic slogans, carried semi-automatic rifles, Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols (such as the swastika, Odal rune, Black Sun, and Iron Cross), the Valknut, Confederate battle flags, Deus Vult crosses, flags and other symbols of various past and present anti-Muslim and antisemitic groups.[18][8][9][16][17][18][22] Within the Charlottesville area, the rally is often known as A12[23] or 8/12.[24] The organizers' stated goals included unifying the American white nationalist movement[11] and to oppose removing a statue of Robert E. Lee from Charlottesville's Lee Park.[21][22]