A Republican candidate running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, Marshall Rawson, was present at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, according to a report by Talking Points Memo. The event, which drew attention for its association with far-right groups, saw Rawson marching alongside members of the League of the South, an organization described by civil rights groups as a white supremacist group that advocates for the secession of Southern states. Rawson, who has been active in efforts to preserve Confederate monuments in North Florida, was identified in video footage as being greeted by name by League of the South members at the rally. Rawson was also seen in a photograph from the protest standing near James Alex Fields Jr., a neo-Nazi who later drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring many others. Fields was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for federal hate crimes related to the attack. In response to the report, Rawson said he has long been involved in efforts to protect historical monuments, stating that his views apply to all monuments, not just those linked to Southern history. The Independent has reached out to him for further comment. On his campaign website, Rawson claims he will defend "our cultural heritage against attacks from the radical left," citing his work to protect Confederate soldier memorials. Over the past decade, many cities and states have removed Confederate monuments and symbols due to their historical ties to white supremacy and slavery. The Charlottesville rally was sparked by a local decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which was later melted down in 2023. Rawson disclosed in a Facebook post from May 2025 that he was involved with the League of the South from 2013 to 2016. He described his participation as focused on opposing immigration policies, defending traditional marriage laws, and later advocating for historic monuments under threat from what he called "woke rioters" and "weak politicians." Rawson recently won the Republican primary for Florida House District 10 and will face Democrat Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson in the November election. Malwitz-Jipson called the new information about Rawson's presence at the rally "extremely alarming" and urged voters not to elect him, stating that the country must move beyond "hatred, secession, and fear."