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The Latest: Mayor calls alleged car-ramming 'terrorism'

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - The Latest on incidents related to violent clashes between white supremacist groups and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., that left three dead(all times local):

9:30 a.m.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer called the killing of a 32-year-old woman and the injury of others by a vehicle at a rally in the city a "terrorist attack with a car used as a weapon."

He made the comments in an interview Sunday with NBC's "Meet the Press."

Heather Heyer died when a car rammed into a group of people who were protesting the presence of white supremacists who had gathered in the city for a rally.

The car's driver, James Alex Fields Jr. was charged with second-degree murder and other counts.

The rally's purpose was to condemn a decision by the city to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

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7:23 a.m.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will visit two Charlottesville churches and speak to congregants following violent clashes in the city between white supremacist groups and counter-protesters that left three dead.

The governor's office says in a release that Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam will join McAuliffe at both Sunday services.

McAuliffe and Northam are scheduled to visit Mount Zion First African Baptist Church and First Baptist Church.

Three were killed and dozens were injured amid what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade to protest the city's decision to remove a Confederate monument. A car rammed into a crowd of protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman, and a state police helicopter crashed into the woods, leaving two troopers onboard dead.

President Donald Trump criticized the violence and called for a return to law and order. But his critics say his racially-tinged rhetoric has exacerbated the nation's political tensions and emboldened racists.

2:21 a.m.

The mayor of Charlottesville blamed the nation's intensifying political divisions for the violent clashes between white supremacist groups and counterprotesters that left three dead.

Mayor Michael Signer on Saturday bemoaned the "very sad and regrettable coarseness in our politics."

Three were killed and dozens were injured amid what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade to protest the city's decision to remove a Confederate monument. A car rammed into a crowd of protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman, and a state police helicopter crashed into the woods, leaving two troopers onboard dead.

President Donald Trump criticized the violence and called for a return to law and order. But his critics say his racially-tinged rhetoric has exacerbated the nation's political tensions and emboldened racists.

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This story corrects the name of the church in the second entry to "First Baptist Church."

People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP) The Associated Press
Larisa Roberts joins protesters in Oakland, Calif., during a counter protest to a rally by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) The Associated Press
Flowers and other mementos are left at a makeshift memorial for the victims after a car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally earlier in the day in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Authorities embrace while working near the scene of a deadly helicopter crash near Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday Aug. 12, 2017. (Shelby Lum/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP) The Associated Press
Authorities work near the scene of a deadly helicopter crash near Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday Aug. 12, 2017. (Shelby Lum/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP) The Associated Press
University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan listens during a news conference concerning the white nationalist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe addresses a news conference concerning the white nationalist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe addresses a news conference concerning the white nationalist rally and violence in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, right, gestures during a news conference concerning the white nationalist rally and violence as Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, center, and Virginia Secretary of Public safety Brian Moran, left, listen in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Laura Hainsworth, right, and Kristina Morris wave peace signs while holding a rainbow colored PEACE flag during a counter protest to the rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Abingdon, Va. (Earl Neikirk/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP) The Associated Press
A vehicle reverses after driving into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP) The Associated Press
A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. /The Daily Progress via AP) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help an injured woman after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help an injured woman after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them.(AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
Rescue personnel help an injured woman after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them.(AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, multiple white nationalist groups march with torches through the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Va. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. (Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP) The Associated Press
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, multiple white nationalist groups march with torches through the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Va. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. (Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP) The Associated Press
White nationalist demonstrators use shields as they guard the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) The Associated Press
These undated photo provided by the Virginia State Police show Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, left, of Quinton, Va., and Lt. H. Jay Cullen, of Midlothian, Va. The two were killed Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, when the helicopter they were piloting crashed while assisting public safety resources during clashes at a nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia State Police via AP) The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Virginia State Police shows Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen, of Midlothian, Va. Cullen along with Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates were killed Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, when the helicopter they were piloting crashed while assisting public safety resources during clashes at a nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia State Police via AP) The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Virginia State Police shows Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates of Quinton, Va. Bates along with Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen were killed Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, when the helicopter they were piloting crashed while assisting public safety resources during clashes at a nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia State Police via AP) The Associated Press
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