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 was 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 a short time later. A pro-flag rally was previously planned at the site Saturday morning
The activist group known as Ferguson Action said
on Twitter the woman, identified as Bree Newsome, had been arrested.
"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.
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 last week.
Gov. Nikki Haley has called for the removal of the flag and the House of Representatives has agreed to debate this issue.
The activist group also posted video of the woman, wearing a helmet and climbing gear, bringing the flag down as police and security await her at the bottom of the pole.
On Friday in Charleston, President Obama used his eulogy for one of the victims of the Charleston 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.
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