Early this morning, a woman in Columbia, South Carolina, scaled a 30-foot flagpole and took down the state capitol’s controversial Confederate flag, according to The State. The activist, identified on social media as Bree Newsome, was arrested after she climbed back down with the flag, as was an unidentified man who was assisting her. They have been charged with defacing a monument. In a press release, Bree announced that they removed the flag “because we can’t wait any longer.” The flag, which is protected by state law, was subsequently re-raised shortly thereafter. A pro-Confederate-flag rally is planned in Columbia for later today.
Here is a video of the entire scene:
This post was updated to replace tweeted images with a superior video.
