Woburn police officer John Donnelly on leave for allegedly planning Charlottesville 'Unite The Right' rally
WOBURN - The Woburn Police Department has put Officer John Donnelly on paid leave pending investigation after learning that he allegedly took part in and helped plan the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Chief [Robert] Rufo recently learned that Officer John Donnelly allegedly participated in and was active in the planning of the so-called "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017," the police department and mayor of Woburn said in a statement Thursday.
The rally featured mobs chanting "Jews will not replace us" while encircling counter-protesters on the University of Virginia campus, wielding and in some cases throwing burning tiki torches as they marched, CBS News reported. One of the participants, neo-Nazi and Hitler sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car from Ohio to attend, and later plowed it through a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens.
Donnelly was a reserve officer for Woburn at the time.
"Upon learning about the officer's role, Chief Rufo acted immediately, placing the officer on leave and ordering an internal affairs review," the police department said. "The officer will remain on leave until the review is completed."
Rufo said that if the investigation proves the allegation is accurate, the department will ask the state to decertify Donnelly so that he can no longer be in Massachusetts law enforcement. Mayor Scott Galvin also said that he would seek to fire Donnelly.
"The Charlottesville rally is a dark moment in our history, and deeply disturbing," Galvin said. "The City of Woburn is taking these allegations seriously by investigating the incident thoroughly and I will move to terminate Officer Donnelly if the investigation concludes that the allegations are accurate."
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Friday that her office is "now thoroughly reviewing any pending or closed cases in which Officer Donnelly was involved."
