I don't give a damn if they were wearing full dress SS uniforms and waving giant size swastika flags. Such an occurrence does not suspend the laws against assault and battery.
The governor wanted a confrontation, and he got it.
First, he declared a state of emergency and removed the authority of the Charlotteville police by putting the State Police in charge.
Next, he used tear gas to chase the white supremacists out of the first park (the one they had the permit for).
A path was created for that group to reach the second park, but that path ran head on into the Antifa group.
The white supremacists were then diverted into the second park allowing the Antifa group to block their exit.
And finally, state police in full riot gear pushed the white supremacists back out of that park head on into the Antifa group.
McAuliffe is looking for free publicity for his Presidential run in 2020. He orchestrated the whole thing. The Charlottesville police were doing a decent job of keeping the sides separated. But once the state of emergency was declared and the state took control, everything went to hell. McAuliffe just didn't count on the kid with the car. After that, the state police got serious in restoring order.