RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Southern heritage group says it is going to federal court to keep the Confederate battle…

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November 29, 2020 | UVa. law prof. weights on Confederate plate debate (WTOP's Kristi King talks to Prof. Leslie Kendrick)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Southern heritage group says it is going to federal court to keep the Confederate battle flag on Virginia license plates.

The Virginia division and the national leadership of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said Thursday they want to stop the state from removing the image of the flag from the plates.

In June, Gov. Terry McAuliffe called the flag “unnecessarily divisive and hurtful” in saying he wanted to phase out the plate.

His announcement came after the mass killings of nine African-Americans inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a motion in federal court to vacate a court order that allowed the Confederate flag on state plates. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for July 31 in Danville.

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