Brianne Pfannenstiel

bpfannenst@dmreg.com

In the midst of national turmoil over race and racism, U.S. Rep. Steve King has come under fire for displaying a Confederate flag on his office desk.

Sioux City TV station KCAU recently aired a story about a bill King has introduced in Congress. In a video interview, the U.S. flag, the Iowa state flag and the “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag, among others, are shown alongside the Confederate flag on King's desk.

Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Area Conference of Branches, said the flag symbolizes division and slavery. She also called it “anti-Iowan.”

“Iowans fought and died to uphold the Union,” she said. “And given (King’s) recent attempt to block Harriet Tubman from the $20 bill, and of course his track record, I just think Iowa voters need to take another look at who they elected to office.”

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King’s office did not respond to a request for comment. He previously has praised his ancestors, who he says fought with the abolitionists to end slavery. The congressman also defended the display of the Confederate flag a year ago in the wake of a shooting in South Carolina that left nine African-Americans dead and prompted the flag's removal from the state Capitol.

The country is once again in the midst of social unrest after violence and accusations of racism. Two African-American men, Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile, recently were killed by police officers in shootings captured on video. That was followed by an attack in Dallas in which a sniper targeted police officers who were monitoring a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, killing five. The black gunman, Micah Johnson, told police he wanted to kill white people, especially officers.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he recognizes that “for historical reasons” some people want to recognize and respect those who fought for the Confederacy. But he said he disagrees with King's choice to display the flag.

“I don’t agree with that, and I guess that’s his decision,” said Branstad, a Republican. “People have a right to display whatever they want to. But I’m proud to say we’re on the side of the Union. And we won the war.”

King also drew criticism recently after introducing an amendment in Congress that would have prevented American civil rights icon and abolitionist Tubman from replacing President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. He told Politico that replacing Jackson would be both “racist” and “sexist.” The proposal died when it was denied floor consideration by the House Rules Committee.

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Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said Monday he stands behind comments he has made previously about the Confederate flag. After last year's Fourth of July festivities, he rebuked local party leaders who flew Confederate flags from a Marion County Republicans’ parade float.

The truck’s owner told The Des Moines Register at the time that he wanted to make a statement that Confederate soldiers are veterans too. Kaufmann at the time said that rationale didn’t “pass muster.”

“He was making a political statement, a statement that was in opposition to what the GOP and the party of Lincoln stands for,” Kaufmann said then.

Kim Weaver, the Democratic candidate challenging King in the 4th Congressional District, said in a statement: "Like a lot of Iowans, I’m disgusted by his gross insensitivity to the millions of Americans for whom that flag is a symbol of racism and division, and I join them in calling on Mr. King to remove it immediately."

The placement of the flag on King's desk was first reported by Iowa Starting Line, a website run by former Democratic staffer Pat Rynard.