Protesters to VA Violence Gather in Billings

The startling acts of racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, sparked by efforts to remove statues and memorials to the Confederacy, resulted in a gathering of about 60 people on the lawn of the Yellowstone County Courthouse on Sunday, calling for peace, justice and inclusion.  KTVQ.com reports that Penny Ronning, a member of the group Billings Rises was among the organizers of the impromptu demonstration.  She is also running for the Billings City Council.

Ronning said there were a lot of groups doing rapid response in the aftermath of the events in Charlottesville, where one person was killed and 19 injured by a man who drove into a crowd of peaceful counter-protesters at a rally of white supremacists.  Other local groups involved included Sanctuary Rising, Big Sky Rising and the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America.