Charlottesville Mayor, Council Members Flee Raucous Meeting

A city council meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia, erupted in fury on Monday night over the authorities’ handling of a white nationalist rally that left a woman dead and 19 people injured.

The agenda for the meeting — the first since the Aug. 12 rally — did not mention the rally or its aftermath. But angry residents and protesters took over the meeting, hurling expletives at the officials and dressing them down.

At one point, the mayor, vice mayor and three council members fled and two people holding a sign that said “blood on your hands” jumped on the chamber’s dais, NBC affiliate WVIR reported.

Police officers flooded the room, the station reported, and three people were detained and removed from the chambers.

Related: Charlottesville Mayor Changes Position, Agrees With Confederate Statue Removal

Vice-mayor Wes Bellamy said they would later be released, according to WVIR.

The council re-convened and listened for more than three hours of tongue-lashing from people who said the authorities did nothing to protect them from white nationalists.

Image: Charlottesville City Council Chaos

Demonstrators hold a sign that reads “Blood On Your Hands” as a protest erupts inside Charlottesville city council chambers Monday in Charlottesville, Virginia.