Confederate flag raised again at South Carolina Statehouse after woman climbs pole to remove it
by David Boroff, Rachelle Blidner
Daily News
June 27, 2015
Bree Newsome used a climbing mechanism to reach the top of the 30-foot pole. Bruce Smith/AP.
A woman climbed a flagpole and removed the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse Saturday — only to be arrested and have the banner raised again less than an hour later.
Bree Newsome scaled the 30-foot pole using a harness just after dawn as officers yelled for her to come down on the Columbia grounds, organizer Tamika Lewis told the Daily News.
“You cannot get to me with hatred and oppression and violence,” Newsome shouted from the top of the pole, according to video. “I come to do this in the name of God. This flag comes down today.”
Newsome took her time climbing down, citing prayers as she did so. When she reached the bottom, State Police took the flag out of her hands and arrested her.
Another activist, James Tyson, spotted Newsome at the bottom of the pole to make sure she didn’t fall, Lewis said. He was arrested alongside Newsome as a group of onlookers cheered off camera. Read the rest of this article here.
YouTube video from The Tribe: