Woman removes Confederate flag in front of SC statehouse
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The two people arrested for removing the Confederate flag from the front of the South Carolina Statehouse have been released from jail in the state capital.
Sherri Iacobelli, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety, said Newsome and James Ian Tyson, 30, also of Charlotte, have been charged with defacing monuments on state Capitol grounds.
According to the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, the "Bail for Bree Newsome" fund had raised just over $77,000 in nine hours as of 8 p.m. EDT.
Calls for removing the flag have been renewed since nine black churchgoers were killed in what police characterized as a racist attack at a Charleston, South Carolina church last week.
South Carolina lawmakers took the initial steps last Tuesday toward removing the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds by agreeing to allow discussion of the matter during the legislative session.
The NAACP stands with our youth and behind the multigenerational band of activists fighting the substance and symbols of bigotry, hatred and intolerance, NAACP President Cornell William Brooks said in an emailed statement.