‘Heartbroken’ by Charlottesville, Schwarzenegger donates to anti-hate group

Horrified by the images of neo-Nazis and white supremacists at a rally in Charlottesville, Arnold Schwarzenegger has donated $100,000 to an anti-hate group.

The former California governor posted the news on Facebook on Sunday. In the statement, the movie star-turned-politician said he was “heartbroken” that a domestic terrorist is allegedly responsible for taking the life of Heather Heyer, who was in Charlottesville to denounce the “Unite the Right” rally of alt right-wing groups. He also paid his respects to helicopter pilot Lt. H Jay Cullen and Virginia State Police Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, who died in a helicopter crash near the rally.

Schwarzenegger blasted the “so-called white nationalists” and said they are “lucky to live in a country that defends their right to voice their awful, incorrect, hateful opinions, the rest of us must use our voices and resources to condemn hate and teach tolerance at every opportunity.”

The donation will go to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based organization Schwarzenegger has worked with for decades. The group is named after famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, whom Schwarzenegger called a friend.

“I have spoken to its (the center’s) founder, Rabbi Marvin Hier, and I know that my contribution can help advance the Center’s mission of expanding tolerance through education and fighting hate all over America – in the streets and online,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “ My dream is that all of you will join me in helping your favorite anti-hate organizations in any way you can. United, we are greater than the hatred we saw this weekend.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 12:49 PM with the headline "‘Heartbroken’ by Charlottesville, Schwarzenegger donates to anti-hate group."