Two Christmas parades in North Carolina have been cancelled within a week after residents protested against the inclusion of a float and participation by a Confederate group.

The town of Garner, near Raleigh, announced it had decided to cancel its planned event in case it might be a “target for disruption”, it announced on the city website. The decision followed heated debates on social media about a float from Sons of the Confederate Veterans that might make its way into the parade, the News and Observer reported.

After the cancellation, officials told a local television outlet the group marches in the parade every year, but given the protests around Confederate monuments in North Carolina in recent times, and it being one of the states with the most Confederate statues in the US, the town decided not to risk a confrontation of any kind at the Christmas event.

“We just absolutely had to err on the side of public safety and what we thought was best and what we could realistically prepare for and not put the public and staff in any kind of a bad situation,” Garner’s spokesman, Rick Mercier, said.

The Confederate group said they were “saddened that we as well as many other groups have been denied the enjoyment of the parade because of the very real threat of violence from extremists bent on silencing our constitutional rights,” in a statement to a television outlet, WRAL.

Then this week, Wake Forest, 25 miles north of Garner, announced on its own city website that it would also cancel its annual parade due to public safety concerns after similar protests about a local Confederate group’s participation. Outside groups both protesting against and supporting the Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy planned to show up to the parade, Wake Forest police officials reported to town officials.

The police chief, Jeff Leonard, said there was concern about “agitators”. “We aren’t happy telling kids they can’t attend or participate in this year’s parade – but it’s better than trying to explain to a parent whose child was injured why we chose to proceed despite so many warning signs,” he said in the statement.

Wake Forest’s mayor, Vivian Jones, announced the cancelation of the 72-year tradition in a video message to the community, expressing her own frustrations in having to cancel the event. “Not once in all that time has our event been anything but a peaceful, family-friendly celebration that highlights the wonderful spirit of our community. But sadly, times have changed, and this year is different,” she said.

The cancelation was a reversal of the town’s earlier decision to persist with the parade – after Garner had canceled its parade, Wake Forest officials said. It had previously explained that the Confederate group had participated in the event for over two decades without any incidents, while acknowledging the connections to racism associated with the Confederate flag.

“Make no mistake about it – the town of Wake Forest is extremely sensitive to the emotion the Confederate flag stirs among those on both sides of this issue. We recognize that for some the flag represents racism, hatred and bigotry,” they began, adding, “while others see it as a representation of Southern heritage protected as a matter of freedom of speech/freedom of expression.”

At the end of her message, Jones spoke through tears, seemingly blaming protesters for ruining her town’s Christmas events. “The decision to cancel this year’s parade is not a reflection on our community or our wonderful people,” she said.