Police barricaded entrances to Pennsylvania Avenue before and during the “Unite the Right 2” rally. (Photo by Elly Yu)

D.C.’s police department, public works agency, and other city services spent around $2.6 million to handle Jason Kessler’s “Unite the Right 2” rally on Sunday, according to preliminary estimates released by the mayor’s office.

District taxpayer dollars are expected to be reimbursed by a federal fund that covers the cost of providing public safety “at events related to the presence of the Nation’s Capital in the District.” The 2018 appropriation is for a total of $13 million, meaning that “Unite The Right 2” would account for 20 percent of it.

The vast majority of D.C.’s expenditure, $2.5 million, went to the Metropolitan Police Department, which was operating with its entire staff on Sunday (officially known as “All Hands On Deck”).

The Department of Public Works, which handles parking regulations and cleanup, had the next highest cost at $40,000, followed by the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department at $34,000. The D.C. Homeland Security and Management Agency, which operates the Emergency Operations Center that Mayor Muriel Bowser activated, charged $12,000.

D.C.’s costs don’t amount to the full bill, as several other jurisdictions and agencies were also involved in the day’s activities.

It is not clear, for example, how much WMATA spent to execute a plan to keep the white nationalist group separate from counterprotesters as they traveled from Vienna to Foggy Bottom on Metro. Metro says they provided “regular” service and no special accommodations, while acknowledging that additional trains during First Amendment demonstrations are considered “regularly scheduled” and that the group was provided a police escort. The transit agency said it would only release cost information through an open records request, which takes a minimum of 20 days.

Although just a few dozen rallygoers came out in the end, D.C. police and other agencies deployed a massive presence to deter and prevent an outbreak of the violence that erupted in Charlottesville during last year’s event.

D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham acknowledged the day’s significant cost on Sunday evening, but called the region’s efforts a success. “Today was an example of a well-executed plan to safeguard people and property while allowing people to exercise their first amendment rights,” he said.

There were two arrests on simple assault charges, one by Fairfax police at the Vienna station and another in the 1300 block of New York Avenue NW. While police deployed pepper spray once and there were some tense moments between counterprotesters and police, Newsham said that no injuries were reported.

Think Progress did the math: At an estimated 30 rallygoers, it cost D.C. $87,000 per attendee.

Elly Yu and Jordan Pascale contributed reporting to this story.

Previously:
Here’s What Is Happening With ‘Unite The Right 2’ And Counterprotests