Rival demonstrations held at South Carolina’s Statehouse by white supremacists and Black Educators for Justice following removal of symbol

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

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Hundreds of people have exchanged taunts on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse during separate rallies staged by two groups from outside the state.

Black Educators for Justice, based in Jacksonville, Florida, held its rally on Saturday on the north side of the legislature, where the Confederate flag was removed earlier in the month. Later the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally on the opposite side of the building to protest against the flag’s removal. The flag was flown by forces supporting the secessionist, pro-slavery Confederacy of southern states.

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The state public safety department estimated the crowd at approximately 2,000. Spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said at least three people were arrested.

Several people carried the Confederate flag along the margin of the crowd at the black educators rally. About 40 members of the KKK marched up the Capitol steps and waved flags. Many in the crowd jeered.

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Two men who were involved in a scuffle were led away by police. During the rallies Leroy Smith – the state public safety director, who is black – was seen helping a white man wearing a T-shirt and bearing a swastika get out of the heat.

Governor Nikki Haley earlier in the week urged residents to avoid the KKK rally, adding that doing so would honor the nine people shot and killed at a predominantly black church in Charleston in June.