Texans traveled to Oklahoma to wave Confederate flag at president

People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel that President Barack Obama is staying the night, on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City. Obama is traveling in Oklahoma to visit El Reno Federal Correctional Institution. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) less People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel that President Barack Obama is staying the night, on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City. Obama is traveling in Oklahoma to visit El Reno Federal ... more Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Texans traveled to Oklahoma to wave Confederate flag at president 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

Some very committed Texans made sure to greet the U.S. president with Confederate flags during his trip to Oklahoma this week.

Barack Obama made stops in Durant, Okla. and Oklahoma City during a two-day trip to the state. Photos from the president’s trip show people waving Confederate flags outside his hotel in the state capital and a motorcade of trucks flying the flag in Durant.

READ MORE: Obama calls for fairer justice system during Oklahoma trip

Reports on the spectacle say Texans represented many of the flag wavers in Durant at least. The town sits not far from the Lone Star State’s border. Oklahoma City’s KFOR-TV talked to a couple of Texans at the protest. Trey Johnson felt compelled to drive three hours from Texas to communicate to the president that the flag is “a southern thing. That’s it.”

Another Texan man named Angel Pride in the report ranted about how the flag “has nothing to do with racism.”

Oklahoma state rep. Emily Virgin also noted on Twitter that “most of the Confederate flag-wavers I saw in Durant today had Texas plates.” Another man wrote that one of the trucks he saw in downtown Oklahoma City also had a Texas license plate.

@ForrestBennett most of the confederate flag-wavers I saw in Durant today had Texas plates also. — Emily Virgin (@RepEmilyVirgin) July 16, 2015

@RepEmilyVirgin what's sad is that Oklahoma was never, and still isn't, a part of the south. There is no heritage. — Randall K (@Razgriz24) July 16, 2015

The flag’s indisputable history – both its role as the battle flag and its association with hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan – create an uncomfortable image for the president’s visit. It’s also a bizarre one for those making the heritage argument since Oklahoma did not even receive statehood until 44 years after the flag’s adoption.

Some flag supporters at the rally were Oklahoma residents. That includes Andrew Duncomb, the black man pictured with the flag in the Oklahoma City photos. However his resolve that the flag is not racist, does not suddenly unravel all arguments to the contrary.

Reports said the White House did not comment on whether Obama saw the flag.

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