Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip
354 5 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
[h=4]Activist removes Confederate flag at S.C. Capitol[/h]A black female activist climbed a flagpole Saturday on the Capitol grounds in Columbia, S.C., and briefly removed a controversial rebel battle flag from a Confederate monument.
{# #}
[h=4]Sent![/h]A link has been sent to your friend's email address.
[h=4]Posted![/h]A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
[h=6]Join the Nation's Conversation[/h]To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
At least two people have been arrested after the Confederate flag was briefly removed from the South Carolina State House. The incident brought protesters, on both sides of the debate, to the area. VPC
Ab activist removes a controversial Confederate flag from a monument on the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol on June 27, 2015.(Photo: Ferguson Action)
A black female activist climbed a flagpole Saturday in Columbia, S.C., and briefly removed a controversial Confederate battle flag from in front of the Statehouse.
After scaling the 30-foot pole and retrieving the flag, she and a male companion were arrested by State Capitol police who waited for her at the bottom inside a small, wrought-iron fence.
The flag, which is protected by state law, was raised again about 45 minutes later. A pro-flag rally was previously planned at the site Saturday morning.
The activist, identified as Bree Newsome, issued a statement by email to the media around the time of her arrest.
"We removed the flag today because we can't wait any longer. We can't continue like this another day," the statement said. "It's time for a new chapter where we are sincere about dismantling white supremacy and building toward true racial justice and equality."
Sherri Iacobelli, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety, said that Newsome, and a companion, James Ian Tyson, 30, both from Charlotte, were charged with defacing monuments on state Capitol grounds.
The misdemeanor charge carries a fine of up to $5,000 and a prison term of up to three years or both.
The activist group known as Ferguson Action released video of the incident on Twitter .
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
Activist Bree Newsome told police she was "prepared to be arrested" as she removed the Confederate flag flying in front of the South Carolina State House. Newsome scaled the 30-foot pole, retrieved the flag, and was promptly arrested. VPC
"The flag is gone," Ferguson Action said on Twitter, congratulating "local organizers" for the operation. It also tweeted a photo of the woman being taken away by police.
LIberal author and film director Michael Moore offered on Twitter to pay her bail and legal fees.
Rev. Jesse Jackson also tweeted in support of Newsome's actions, saying, "We thank God that Bree Newsome had the courage to take the flag down."
The flag has been at the center of a heated debate following the killing of nine black parishioners at a historic black church in Charleston on June 17.
Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old South Carolinian who has been charged with nine counts of murder in the attack on the Emanuel AME Cchurch, was depicted on line express white supremacist views and posing with the Confederate flag.
Gov. Nikki Haley called for the removal of the flag, and the state House of Representatives agreed to debate the issue.
President Obama used his eulogy Friday in Charleston for one of the victims of the shooting, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, to call for the removal of Confederate flags as symbols of honor.
"For many — black and white — that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation. We see that now," Obama said.
The activist group Ferguson Action, which calls on its supporters to "take action," was formed following the killing last August of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.
0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed