CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - An organizer of last summer's deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia has withdrawn his request for a court order allowing him to stage an event marking its anniversary.
Jason Kessler's change of plans was announced during a brief hearing Tuesday.
Kessler had requested a preliminary injunction that would compel the city of Charlottesville to issue him a rally permit for next month. He sued in March, claiming the city's refusal to grant him a permit tramples on his free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Kessler's lawyer, James Kolenich, told reporters after the hearing he doesn't know why Kessler changed his mind.
Hundreds of white supremacists and counter-protesters clashed at last year's "Unite the Right" rally before a car plowed into a crowd of people, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
