Charlottesville's white awakening: 'We were living in a bubble,' say residents

Inside the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium, a succession of pop stars were telling local residents that “Love trumps hate” and “You will not dethrone love.” Dave Matthews, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande and Justin Timberlake were holding a free concert to help Charlottesville recover from the violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi protests that rocked the town last month.

But as he smoked a cigarette by the stadium concession stands Sunday evening, Jack (who did not want his last name used) wasn’t talking about love. He was talking about his vote. The 25-year-old, who has lived in Charlottesville most of his life, is a conservative in a liberal town. He said he had voted for Donald Trump, hoping that a political outsider would bring change.

Then white supremacists “You will not replace us” and “Jews will not replace us.” They carried guns and wore helmets and shields and fought with anti-fascists in the streets, generating news footage viewed around the world.