Cheers Erupt as Flag Lowered at South Carolina State House

The Confederate flag was lowered and removed from the South Carolina State House grounds on July 10. The removal came a day after the state’s House of Representatives voted on a bill to remove the flag, which Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law.

Thousands gathered to watch as South Carolina Highway Patrol officers lowered the flag, according to local media. Cheers erupted as the flag came down the pole at just after 10 am local time. Haley watched from the capitol steps.

The shooting death of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston last month renewed debate in the state and nationwide about the flag’s removal. Haley had called on lawmakers to pass a bill to remove it.

The flag had flown for decades on the dome of the capitol, but it was moved to a soldiers’ memorial in front of the State House in 2000. That change also required two-thirds of the legislature to approve removing the flag. Credit: Facebook/Agapé Senior