A Michigan police officer has been suspended with pay after he was seen off-duty driving a pickup truck with a Confederate flag around a group of people protesting at an anti-Trump protest.

Traverse City Officer Michael Peters was spotted driving near a 'Love Trumps Hate' rally in the city, in Michigan's north, on Friday with the Confederate flag attached to the rear of his truck.

The truck was then parked near the rally where Peters was seen drinking a beer.

Traverse City Officer Michael Peters has been suspended with pay after driving a pickup truck with a Confederate flag at an anti-Trump protest on Friday in the northern Michigan city

Traverse City police Chief Jeff O'Brien announced on Sunday that Peters had been suspended with pay.

'Let me assure you that we hold our officers to a higher standard and the flag incident will be fully investigated,' O'Brien said in a statement on the Traverse City PD's Facebook page.

'The officer has been suspended from active duty.'

Peters is said to have revved his engine as he drove past the rally.

Marshall Collins Jr., an African American rallygoer, confronted the Peters. He later learned he worked in law enforcement, the Record Eagle reports.

'If you're a role model to the community you do that on and off duty,' Collins said.

An internal police investigation will start on Monday to see if Peters broke any departmental rules, according to the police chief.

The off-duty officer drove near a group of people protesting at a Love Trumps Hate rally with the Confederate flag attached to the rear of his truck

Traverse City police Chief Jeff O'Brien announced on Sunday that Peters had been suspended with pay, pending an investigation into the incident

'Our uniform patch is embroidered with an image of the flag of The United States. The inscription states: We pledge allegiance to the flag. The members of the Traverse City Police Department have sworn an oath and will uphold the Constitution of the United States,' O'Brien said.

'On the top of the patch is the words: Lex Et Ordo; a Latin term which means Law and Order. Understand that cool heads will prevail. I hear you! The officer has 'Due Process' and also is protected under the Constitution. That process is sometimes slow.'

The Confederate battle flag is seen by many people as a symbol of hatred and intimidation of African-Americans following the U.S. Civil War and the freeing of blacks from slavery.

There have been numerous reports of threats, intimidation and racially charged violence around the country since Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's presidential election.

Peters could not be reached for comment.