An activist climbed up a flagpole outside the South Carolina Statehouse and removed the Confederate flag early Saturday morning -- in a startling, and short- lived, protest against the controversial symbol. Bree Newsome, 30, of Charlotte, N.C., apparently is part of a group of activists. She and a man who had entered the wrought-iron fence surrounding the flag were arrested after she came back down. And the flag, which is protected by state law, was raised again a short time later.
Sherri Iacobelli, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety, said that 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 or both.
About the time of her arrest, Newsome, who is black, 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."
The incident is just the latest flare-up in the national debate over Confederate symbols. Gov. Nikki Haley and other state leaders earlier this week called for the flag to be taken down, but this will require an act of the legislature.
Other states also are debating Confederate symbols, including over statues of figures like Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. The debate has raged since nine black churchgoers were killed in what police characterized as a racist attack at a Charleston, S.C., church last week.
On Saturday, the activist got about halfway up the more than 30-foot steel flagpole in Columbia, S.C., just after dawn when officers of the South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services told her to come down. Instead, she continued up and removed the flag before returning to the ground.
Though the flag was returned, the statement from her and her group said she was part of a #KeepItDown campaign.
A statement from the group said: "We took this task in our own hands because our, President, Governor, mayors, legislators, and councilmen had a moral duty to remove the flag but failed to act. We could not sit by and watch the victims of the Charleston Massacre be laid to rest while the inspiration for their deaths continue to fly above their caskets."
It's unclear whether more such protests are planned.
A day earlier, President Obama delivered the eulogy for state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor killed in the Charleston attack. Other funeral services for the victims are also being held.
