South Carolina To Remove Confederate Flag Next Week: ‘It Will Only Get Worse’
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign a bill that would allow the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the statehouse.
According to the State, South Carolina lawmakers are currently on vacation, but will return to work after the Fourth of July holiday. Upon their return, the state’s Senate will determine if the bill will move forward to Governor Haley’s desk, who is expected to sign it into law after previously calling for the removal of the Confederate flag.
Haley’s call for removing the Confederate flag caught the attention of a group in North Carolina, which is expected to hold a rally later this month. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) have requested to hold a rally at the grounds of South Carolina’s statehouse on July 18 from 3-5 p.m. The group is anticipating about 200 people to attend the rally.
However, it could take longer than anticipated for South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag. House Speaker Jay Lucas noted in a statement that he would like for all bills concerning the flag to be passed along to the House Judiciary Committee, so they can “go through the appropriate process.” If that were to occur, the bill would most likely not get signed into law for several weeks.
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford doesn’t see Lucas delaying this issue any further, but he also wants to see the Confederate flag removed as soon as possible.
“It’s July and hot, and the world is watching. It will only get worse. If we don’t act, we are encouraging problems.”
Earlier this week, one person was arrested during a protest in which supporters and opponents of the Confederate flag disputed the issue in front of South Carolina’s statehouse. Another person vandalized a statue of the state’s former governor Ben Tillman, also known as “Pitchfork Ben,” by hurling a balloon filled with red paint at the monument.
Some South Carolina lawmakers have even received death threats in regards to the Confederate flag. According to a separate report from the State, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating how many were actual threats. Chief Mark Keel mentioned that some of the comments may be stemming from people who are just “mouthing off,” while others are most likely credible.
“We are vetting these things as they come in to see if anything is criminal. If we think something is, we will send it to a prosecutor and let them tell us whether there’s enough there to do anything with them.”
Some of the things SLED will be investigating is if the comments are personally geared toward someone, Keel added.
“The language may not be too nice but it’s not like, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ But if it’s a direct threat against you or your family – now that’s a different story.”
[Photos by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
