Woman takes down flag at S.C. Capitol

Confederate symbol back in place as dozens hold rally for its preservation

Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbs a flagpole Saturday on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse to remove the Confederate flag. She and a man were taken into custody, and the flag was raised again by Capitol workers.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbs a flagpole Saturday on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse to remove the Confederate flag. She and a man were taken into custody, and the flag was raised again by Capitol workers.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Confederate flag was temporarily displaced from the front of the South Carolina Statehouse on Saturday when a woman climbed the flagpole and -- despite calls by police to get down -- removed the banner.

photo

AP

Officers arrest Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., after she took down the Confederate battle flag flying over the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia.

Meanwhile, funerals for three more victims of a deadly shooting during a Bible study in South Carolina were being held at the church where they were slain.

Bree Newsome, 30, of Charlotte, N.C., was about halfway up the more than 30-foot steel flagpole just after dawn Saturday when officers of the South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services ran to the flagpole and told her to get down. Instead, she continued climbing to the top and removed the flag.

She and a man who had climbed over a 4-foot wrought-iron fence to get to the flag were arrested.

The flag, which is protected by state law, was raised about 45 minutes later, well ahead of a rally later Saturday by supporters of keeping the flag where it is.

Sherri Iacobelli, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said Newsome and James Ian Tyson, 30, also of Charlotte, have been charged with defacing monuments on state Capitol grounds. That's a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $5,000 and a prison term of up to three years.

A staff member at the jail where the two were taken said she did not know whether they had attorneys.

Jail officer L. Tucker said Newsome and Tyson were released later Saturday after posting bond.

About the time of her arrest, Newsome released an email statement to the media.

"We removed the flag today because we can't wait any longer. We can't continue like this another day," it said. "It's time for a new chapter where we are sincere about dismantling white supremacy and building toward true racial justice and equality."

According to the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, the "Bail for Bree Newsome" fund had raised just over $77,000 in nine hours as of 7 p.m. The fund was set up to pay for her bail and legal expenses.

Authorities said Newsome was from Raleigh, N.C. However, Mervyn Marcano, a spokesman for the small group of activists who worked together to take down the flag, said Newsome recently moved to Charlotte.

Tamika Lewis, another member of the group, said taking down the flag "was done because we were tired of waiting for the judicial system to make the decision they have been prolonging for a very long time."

Later Saturday, about 50 people who support keeping the flag held a rally at the Statehouse. Many were waving Confederate flags as they shouted "Heritage not hate!"

"This is not a flag of hate. It's a flag of heritage, and we have a right to our heritage," said Leland Browder of Greenville. "I'm from the South and proud of the South and, you know, proud of this flag."

Supporters also said the voters should decide the fate of the flag and shouted: "Let the people vote."

Calls for removing the flag have been renewed since nine black churchgoers were killed at a Charleston church earlier this month.

South Carolina lawmakers took the initial steps Tuesday toward removing the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds by agreeing to allow discussion of the matter during the legislative session.

The agreement came a day after Republican Gov. Nikki Haley reversed course and called for the divisive symbol to come down. The flag has flown in front of the state Capitol for 15 years after being moved from atop the Statehouse dome.

Speaking at the funerals for three of the victims of the deadly attack on the historic black church, eulogizers said Saturday that the lives lost had become a catalyst for change.

The services were held for Cynthia Hurd, Tywanza Sanders and Susie Jackson at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, 11 days after a gunman entered the church and killed nine people -- all blacks. Police say the attack was racially motivated.

The tragedy "shook an America that didn't want to believe this kind of hate could still exist," said Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. during a eulogy for Hurd, 54.

Riley said the killings will go down in history with other episodes of church violence, referencing the civil rights-era bombing of a Baptist church in Alabama that killed four girls.

Remembering Hurd as a young girl who worked serving ice cream during the summer, Riley said she went on "to leading them to knowledge" as a librarian for almost 30 years.

Haley attended the services along with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Speaking at the combined service for Sanders, 26, and Susie Jackson, 87, Haley said the shooting happened on her watch, and she promised "we will make this right." The governor did not say what actions she planned to take.

According to a pamphlet given at the funeral, Sanders died trying to protect Jackson, his aunt, and Felicia Sanders, his mother who survived the shooting. Sanders' last words were to the shooter, the pamphlet said.

"You don't have to do this, we are no harm to you," Sanders is alleged to have said, followed by "where is my Aunt Susie? I've got to get to my Aunt Susie."

Information for this article was contributed by Meg Kinnard, Jeffrey Collins, Jonathan Drew and Eric Tucker of The Associated Press.

A Section on 06/28/2015

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