The daughter of country music legend Johnny Cash has hit out at a “neo-Nazi” who wore a fan t-shirt at the white supremacist march in Charlottesville.

Rosanne Cash said the whole family were “sickened” by the association of their father with the extremists, whose recent protest in Virginia led to a violent brawl that made global headlines.

In a scathing Facebook statement, she wrote: “We were alerted to a video of a young man in Charlottesville, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, spewing hatred and bile.

A message from the children of Johnny Cash:We were alerted to a video of a young man in Charlottesville, a…

Posted by Rosanne Cash on Wednesday, August 16, 2017

“He was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the name of Johnny Cash, our father. We were sickened by the association.

“Johnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice. He received humanitarian awards from, among others, the Jewish National Fund, B’nai Brith, and the United Nations.

“He championed the rights of Native Americans, protested the war in Vietnam, was a voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised, and an advocate for the rights of prisoners.

“His pacifism and inclusive patriotism were two of his most defining characteristics. He would be horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred.

On the Highline yesterday with the good folks from @playing4change #queenbee #thehighline #playing4change

A post shared by Rosanne Cash (@mrslev) on

“The white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are poison in our society, and an insult to every American hero who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII. Several men in the extended Cash family were among those who served with honor.

“Our dad told each of us, over and over throughout our lives, ‘Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love.’

“We do not judge race, color, sexual orientation or creed. We value the capacity for love and the impulse towards kindness. We respect diversity, and cherish our shared humanity.

“We recognize the suffering of other human beings, and remain committed to our natural instinct for compassion and service.

This Machine Kills Fascists. #woodyguthrie

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“To any who claim supremacy over other human beings, to any who believe in racial or religious hierarchy: we are not you. Our father, as a person, icon, or symbol, is not you.

“We ask that the Cash name be kept far away from destructive and hateful ideology. We Choose Love.”

She signed off the statement: “Rosanne Cash, Kathy Cash, Cindy Cash, Tara Cash, John Carter Cash” and quoted US politician John Lewis: “Not one of us can rest, be happy, be at home, be at peace with ourselves, until we end hatred and division.”

The 62-year-old musician, who lost her father almost 14 years ago, tweeted following the march: “Just can’t take this in. There are people still alive who wore American uniforms & fought Nazis. The insult to them is beyond comprehension.”

She also wrote that she was struggling to “process” headlines where US president Donald Trump appeared to support some of the people who joined the fascist protest.