Florida man treks to Charlottesville in Confederate uniform

Melissa Nelson Gabriel | Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Florida man said he drove to the site of the violent clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters to show his support for what he describes as "the history of the Confederacy and the American South."

Video captured by The Associated Press on Tuesday shows Allen Armentrout, 21, of Pensacola, Fla., dressed in a Confederate uniform with a Confederate flag leaning against one shoulder. An assault rifle can be see on one shoulder, and he has a pistol holstered on his hip.

The video shows a crowd of protesters confronting Armentrout and shouting "terrorist go home" as he stands motionless, saluting a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee at Charlottesville's Emancipation Park. A proposal to remove the statue sparked a weekend rally by far-right groups that attracted hundreds of white nationalists.

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Armentrout said he made the trip to Virginia because the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other groups are destroying the history of his ancestors and he wants to share "the true history" of the American South. He said neo-Nazis have wrongly "latched on" to Confederate history.

WARNING: Contains some gestures you may find offensive

Brawling continues near Va. Confederate statue NOTE: GRAPHIC GESTURES A crowd of protesters in Charlottesville confronted a man holding a confederate flag on Tuesday at the site of the Robert E. Lee statue where white supremacists rallied last weekend.

The North Carolina native said his fourth great-grandfather fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, and that's why he made the eight-hour drive of more than 800 miles to Virginia.

"I wanted to take care of my history and heritage," he said.

The self-described history buff said he was a peaceful, nonviolent protester.

He said that Heather Heyer, the Charlottesville woman who was killed after a car plowed into counter-protesters, was a victim.

"I hope people will feel ashamed of themselves on both sides," he said.

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He added that hatred is hurtful.

"I am not an ignorant fool. I went up there to represent what I believe is right," he said.

Armentrout, concerned for his safety, declined to say where he was. He's no stranger to the Confederate controversy and the fallout when he takes a stand.

Armentrout has staged similar demonstrations in the past.

In August 2015 — after the Confederate monument in downtown Pensacola was vandalized overnight — Armentrout spent an afternoon holding up a family heirloom Confederate flag.

A YouTube video posted the next month showed Armentrout at a Milton (Fla.) City Council meeting advocating against the removal of the city's Confederate flag.

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