Katie Couric Releases Footage of Charlottesville Rally Violence: ‘It Breaks My Heart’ (Video)

“Perhaps Charlottesville will serve as a wake-up call,” Couric writes in essay

Katie Couric released intense footage on Friday that she filmed at the recent Charlottesville, Virginia, rally.

In addition to the scenes that were filmed for her upcoming National Geographic documentary series, Couric also shared an essay about her experiences. She said that attending the “Unite the Right” event was “especially personal” for her because she was a student the University of Virginia, and her late sister represented the area for several years as a state senator.

“There’s been so much said and written about what happened there, I felt I needed to give my own account of my three days in Charlottesville,” the TV personality wrote. “It’s become the symbol of where we are, as Americans in 2017, and it breaks my heart. But it also fills me with hope.”

The footage shows numerous violent encounters, along with Couric’s interviews with counter-protesters who suffered injuries.

“When we went there to shoot our series about the social, demographic and cultural changes in America, we never expected that this beautiful place would become the center of such ugliness,” Couric continued. “Perhaps Charlottesville will serve as a wake-up call, that hate groups need to be taken seriously and that fair-minded people of all backgrounds and beliefs need to speak up. Hopefully, our series will help contribute to that process.”

Couric previously tweeted that journalists were doused with urine by protesters at the rally.

The events of the weekend have been a lightning rod for debate, with Donald Trump saying during a Tuesday press conference that “both sides” were to blame for the violence that erupted.

Watch the footage above.

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