(Photo by BeyondDC)

(Photo by BeyondDC)

Multiple D.C. councilmembers are criticizing how Metro handled the transportation of a group of white nationalists attending the “Unite The Right 2” rally on Sunday. The transit agency’s largest union is even more withering in its condemnation, saying WMATA lied to the public about its “dishonest, unprecedented” plans.

In contrast to earlier statements from Metro stating that the rally participants would not receive special treatment, they argued that the group did in fact have privileges along the way.

“Giving white supremicists & hate groups a private Metro railcar is so unbelievably wrong & disgraceful,” tweeted Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen. “Beyond the horrible precedent it sets, what does it tell the riding public & operators? Plus, it’s the exact opposite of what @WMATA said they’d do.”

Allen was retweeted by At-large Councilmember David Grosso, while At-large Councilmember Robert White said on Twitter that he is “deeply concerned by the allegations that WMATA may have provided private transportation to these racists.”

Metro Board Chairman and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans told WAMU last week that the agency “never considered providing private trains and will not be doing so” after Metro’s largest transit union claimed that plans were in the works to provide three private cars and a police escort to the group.

Metro said today that all stations and trains remained open to the public during the rally.

“The Kessler group traveled from Vienna to Foggy Bottom on a regularly scheduled train, together with other passengers, media and law enforcement,” spokesperson Sherri Ly said in an emailed statement. “They were escorted by police onto the rear of the train and police rode in that rail car and others to protect the safety of everyone onboard the train.”

The “Vienna station remained open to the public at all times,” she added, though Metro officials acknowledged on Twitter that gates to the station were temporarily closed for “crowd control.”

All Orange Line trains were marked “special” as a destination today because they terminate at Foggy Bottom, which is not a normal terminus. Track work changed many lines this weekend.

Whether the train the rallygoers boarded was, indeed, “regularly scheduled” was also a matter of discussion:

Ly said via email that law enforcement “may have advised customers of other available cars to board.” Police said they reserved one car, the last on the train, in order to keep the groups separate.

In addition to councilmembers and the union, many on social media were critical of that choice.

But others said that it was necessary to prevent violence.

During a press conference on Sunday evening, Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on what happened on Metro, saying generally that “we feel strongly that [our approach of keeping rallygoers and counterprotesters separate] led to a relatively peaceful day.”

ATU Local 689, Metro’s largest union, however, was unsparing. “DC, now you see who was telling the truth about the racist marchers being escorted onto Metro and who lied,” the union tweeted. “Wiedefeld lied to riders and public when the truth was more convenient.”

Metro referred questions on crowd control and security to the Joint Operations Command and MPD, which took the lead on the event.

Previously:
Metro Chairman Says There Won’t Be Private Cars For Unite The Right Rallygoers
Here’s What Is Happening With ‘Unite The Right 2’ And Counterprotests
Mayor Orders Activation Of D.C.’s Emergency Operations Center Before ‘Unite The Right 2’
What To Know About Sunday’s ‘Unite The Right’ White Supremacist Rally
Here’s Where The Counterprotests To ‘Unite The Right 2’ Are Happening
A Brief History Of White Supremacist Rallies In D.C.

Filed Under: metro, wamu, wmata,