[jwplatform erHgs1VG]
The debate over the Confederate flag in South Carolina took an ugly turn last night. According to police, dozens of flag supporters and protestors clashed outside the South Carolina Statehouse. Flag protestors were having a peaceful yet vocal demonstration when Confederate flag supporters stopped in the middle of the street and interrupted the protest. It took 50 officers from various law enforcement agencies including the Bureau of Protective Services assigned to the Statehouse, City of Columbia police, University of South Carolina officers and the South Carolina Highway Patrol to contain the situation.
Joe Linder, a participant in the fight, told media, “The blood on my teeth, the blood on my hands is no comparison to the Southern blood that runs through my veins … racism has no part in the flag … I’m gonna tell you one thing, I ain’t sitting down; this’ll just make me walk taller.”
According to another flag supporter, Sydney Baldwin, the fight began when someone took his flag: “I jumped out of my truck…That was all I did, was grab my flag and I got hit in the side.”
Out of the dozens fighting, only one arrest was made by police. Nicholas Thompson, 25, of Irmo, South Carolina, was charged with disorderly conduct.
