The mother of the woman who was killed in Charlottesville claims that she’s receiving death threats — but also says she understands why white nationalists are violently acting out.
The stunning display of compassion came during an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, in which Susan Bro discussed her feelings about the murder of her daughter, Heather Heyers, and the people who she was protesting against that fateful day.
“As much as I detest what the nationalists seem to be trying to say, they have a voice that they’re trying to express — and somebody needs find out what it is that’s bothering them,” Bro said.
“There are people who feel marginalized. There are people who feel their voices are not being heard, and I think that everybody needs to sit down and have an honest and painful discourse. We need to listen to each other.”
The grieving mom went on to say that while the group her daughter was protesting with last Saturday was described by cops as being “peaceful,” there’s a chance that some of the other anti-racist demonstrators were not.
“I do not know if there were non-peaceful protesters,” Bro said, explaining that she “did not” have a reaction to President Trump’s “both sides” comments this week.
“I don’t even know what the KKK and others were doing,” she added. “I really don’t know what the truth of the matter was. I do know that police indicated to me that the group Heather was in was a peaceful group. They were simply crossing the street…[and] kind of actually disbanding.”
Bro told MSNBC that when it comes to the “both sides” issue, the argument is null and void.
“Whether there was violence on both sides or not is irrelevant,” she said. “The guy mowed my daughter down and, sorry, that’s not excusable.”
Heyers, 32, was run over and killed on Saturday by a Nazi-loving white nationalist from Ohio who was in Charlottesville for the “Unite the Right” demonstrations.
In response, countless people from across the country have called on Trump to blast the alt-right groups that organized and attended the events as domestic terrorists — something he’s refused to do.
The president’s stance has ultimately emboldened white nationalists, with many praising him.
Bro said Thursday that Heather would’ve scoffed at the show of support.
“She would have laughed them to scorn,” she said.
Bro ultimately believes that those who took part in the “Unite the Right” rallies are being catered to by Trump because they’re some of his biggest constituents.
“I think the president has found a niche in voters of the people who feel marginalized and I think he has continued to nurture those marginalized voters,” she said. “I’ve had death threats already … because of what I’m doing right this second.”
In regards to what needs to be done about the rising tensions and renewed concerns about racism, Bro concluded that everyone needs to come together and discuss things rationally.
“I think all groups need to start talking to each other,” she said. “Stop the punching, stop the kicking. Once you’ve thrown a punch, once you’ve thrown a kick, once you’ve hurled a rock, you’ve become irrational…I’m looking for honest and painful discussion about what’s bothering everybody, because that’s the bottom line. We’re all bothered, so let’s figure out what the sources of that pain and hurt and anger are.”