Chanting “Take it down,” hundreds of protesters rallied at the Capitol in South Carolina on Tuesday, calling for the removal of a Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds as lawmakers took the first steps to end the display.
Both houses of the state Legislature approved measures to take up the flag issue, but that debate will come after the budget is resolved in the special session that began on Tuesday. It was unclear whether the Legislature would act before the funerals of those slain in last week’s attack on Emanuel AME Church.
The House held a moment of silence for the Rev.