Hollywood actor and liberal activist Mark Ruffalo tweeted that he would be marching 18 miles with all 23 people from Charlottesville to Washington D.C. to protest white supremacy and call for the removal of President Donald Trump. The only thing is, he dropped out after eight miles, making it seem more like a movie-star photo-op.
Last Thursday, Ruffalo released a statement that he would be taking part in the march in the memory of Heather Heyer, who was run over and killed by an Ohio man during the Charlottesville protest on August 12.
“I’m also marching because of the central demand of this march is for Donald Trump to be removed from office following his statement supporting white supremacists and neo-Nazis,” Ruffalo said in the statement. “Our ancestors risked their lives and fought in World War II to stop the Nazis .. Now, we have a president who called participants in the neo-Nazi and white supremacist march in Charlottesville ‘some very fine people.’ Enough is enough.”
Ruffalo tweeted—“Heading to Culpeper. Marching 18 miles today alongside these beautiful people. We the people have the power.”
But the local newspaper, the Culpeper Star Exponent, tattled on the movie star: "Actor Mark Ruffalo showed up Thursday morning in Madison [Virginia] and joined the marchers.Ruffalo, however, abandoned the march after about eight miles. He dropped out at a rest stop at Leon and never made it into Culpeper County."
That's not how the national press reported it. You'd think the actor marched the whole 18-mile route from the publicists at the Los Angeles Times:
On Ruffalo's official Tumblr, he shared several photos with fellow protesters as they marched the 18 miles from Madison, Va., to Culpeper, Va.
"Met so many incredible people today. All so young, but so impactful, strong and brave," Ruffalo wrote on Tumblr. "Thank you for letting me [be] a part of this day in history. Keep fighting for what you believe in. We cannot normalize a world of hatred, racism and bigotry. I will be cheering you all on."
The March to Confront White Supremacy began Monday in Charlottesville and was organized after far-right rallies spawned violence and death in the college town.
According to the Culpeper newspaper, most locals didn’t know about the march, let alone a famous Hollywood actor was taking part...for a little bit. Protesters never seem to care that they back up traffic and cost local governnments money to watch over them:
The march drew little attention from the local populace—none of whom participated. Occasionally a curiosity-seeker stopped to take a cellphone photo and several drivers honked their horns in protest of the traffic backup.
“I’m for free speech, but I hate to see my tax money tied up for this,” said Culpeper bail bondsman Ronnie Lee, who watched the marchers pass from atop a road bank.For most of the day, there were more state police and VDOT personnel than marchers. Troopers from the Culpeper and Fairfax districts used 10 marked police cars, at least six unmarked cars and five motorcycles.
