Violence struck in Charlottesville. Rock Hill mayor refused to stay quiet online

When Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols saw images of bloody violence make their way across the country from Saturday’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., he couldn’t help but feel sympathy.

He wanted to express solidarity with Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, both of whom have been thrust into the national spotlight because of the tragedy that left one dead and nearly 20 injured.

Echols went on a mini-Tweetstorm, retweeting emotional responses from several national leaders, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former S.C. House Rep. Bakari Sellers, and Signer himself.

The notion of white supremacy and white nationalism is “repulsive” to Echols, he said Monday.

“My heart breaks for what we’ve seen in Charlottesville,” he said. “And how that really tears at the fabric of our country.”

Echols said he has followed what Signer and McAuliffe have done from afar, and felt moved to make his voice heard.

“We should all be saddened by the terrible display of white nationalism in Charlottesville,” Echols Tweeted Saturday. “This does not represent America.”

He said Monday that he felt compelled to speak out. He retweeted the following Tweets below on his Twitter page.

“We need to support those struggling in other places, and wrestle with these types of issues ourselves,” he said.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Violence struck in Charlottesville. Rock Hill mayor refused to stay quiet online."