Confederate flag should be removed from South Carolina state capitol grounds, governor says
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After a fatal shooting attack last week on nine people who were attending a Bible study group at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, the state’s governor on Monday called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the state capitol grounds.
“Today we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will to say it is time to remove the flag from our capitol grounds,” said Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, to cheers and applause, as a number of state and federal lawmakers stood behind her. “This flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state.”
CNN and the Washington Post (reg. req.) have stories.
Approval by two-thirds of the state legislature is required to remove the flag from the capitol grounds.
Authorities confirmed over the weekend that a racist manifesto found online belonged to shooting suspect Dylann Roof, the Post reported. The Department of Justice is investigating the shootings and “looking at this crime from all angles, including as a hate crime and as an act of domestic terrorism,” spokeswoman Emily Pierce said in a statement last week.
Related coverage:
Bloomberg: “How Stephen Colbert Has Stood Against the Confederate Flag for Years”
CNN: “Confederate flag deserves history’s harsh verdict”
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.): “S.C. governor says Confederate flag at state Capitol must be removed”
