Man ties himself to Confederate statue in SC during ‘peaceful protest,’ police say
A man tied himself to a Confederate monument in protest of the memorial and flag in Walhalla, South Carolina, Friday evening, riling up the sleepy Upstate town and starting a social media bluster in the community.
Standing about six feet high atop the base of the monument on Main Street, the protester yelled “The Confederate Flag should not be standing”
The man was the single demonstrator at what the Walhalla Police Department said was a “peaceful protest” on the main drag of Walhalla, a town of about 5,000 people in Oconee County.
“At this time it is peaceful and no crimes are being committed,” the department said in a statement at the time of the protest. “Officers are in the area to maintain everyone’s safety.”
The protester was not identified in the statement by police.
About five people stood and listened to the man as he blasted the Confederate flag, according to video provided to WYFF.
The protester shouted down at a small group that had gathered early on, asking what he had to do to convince people the Confederate flag should not be standing.
“You have to get your ass off that monument is what you have to do,” a man on the ground replied.
The man’s demonstration drew three Walhalla police officers to keep the peace as the crowd around the protester swelled to about 30, according to police. Some showed up carrying Confederate flags and shouted at the protester, video shows. Others showed up to support him, witnesses said.
The protest lasted until about 8:30 p.m. when police escorted the protester to safety.
Residents of Walhalla took to social media to discuss the protest. Responses varied between support for the protester to others who speculated he was part of a group set on the destruction of American society.
“Part of the same communist, socialist, BLM movement educated at your local university!” one person wrote.
“Pretty brave of him. Glad he didn’t get shot,” another person posted.
Another woman said on social media, “All these locals been preaching how they ain’t racist ... yet, I see where a young man is protesting the Confederate statue in walhalla and the most common comment I see? “Hang him ”Yeah ... yall need to pray. God dont like ugly and that’s about as ugly and racist as you can get.”
The monument the protesters strapped himself too is similar to the Confederate soldier monument that stands near Gervais Street in Columbia on the State House grounds. The Walhalla monument was erected in 1910 by “The Women of Oconee County,” according to its inscription. It sits behind a pole that flies the Confederate flag.
In a video posted on social media, a driver slowed and asked the protester what he was doing.
“Protesting for the removal of this statue and placement of it in a museum where it belongs,” the protester told the driver. “This is a piece of history. This is not to be honored. This is not the South we should fight for.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Man ties himself to Confederate statue in SC during ‘peaceful protest,’ police say."