The Illinois state Senate passed a measure Monday urging law enforcement to treat white supremacist groups as terrorist organizations. This measure comes in response to the violent white supremacist rally carried out in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday that left one woman dead.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune:
"It is vital that we stand in total opposition to the hatred, bigotry and violence displayed by the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville this past weekend,” said sponsoring Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park.
“They are the heirs to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazis. We fought two bloody wars in opposition to their ideologies. We must continue to fight those same twisted ideologies today.”
During the Charlottesville rally, members of white supremacist groups held tiki torches and waved Nazi flags. The clash between neo-Nazi groups and counter-protesters quickly turned violent, ultimately leaving one woman dead after a man intentionally plowed his car into a group of bystanders.
According to the Hill:
Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man with reported ties to the white supremacist movement drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville. The alleged driver, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, has been charged with second-degree murder in the crash.