Atlanta man drives to South Carolina to lower Confederate flag on interstate, deputies say
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. - An Atlanta man allegedly made a nearly three-hour-long trek to South Carolina to lower the Confederate flag that flies over Interstate 85 south.
Spartanburg County deputies said they caught 22-year-old James Blitch trespassing onto a property Saturday night. Blitch allegedly told the officials he was planning to lower the flag that was originally erected by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 2022. The property it sits on belongs to the organization's Spartanburg chapter.
Blitch was released on Sunday afternoon.
What does the Confederate flag mean?
The "battle flag" features a red backdrop, a blue "X" and one white star for each of the 13 Confederate states. Despite being called the "Confederate flag," it was never the official symbol of the Confederacy.
For some, the Confederate flag is a symbol of pride. Those who wear and wave it proudly usually say it's a mark of Southern heritage and a reminder of the American Civil War.
Sons of Confederate Veterans gather at Stone Mountain (Billy Heath/FOX 5 Atlanta)
For others, the flag represents division, hatred and pro-slavery. When the Confederacy was defeated on April 9, 1865, ending the Civil War, then-President Abraham Lincoln moved forward with the abolition of slavery. Since the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have carried it for decades, it strikes some as holding onto a past when not every American was free.
READ MORE: The many Confederate flags explained
Confederate flag, monument removals in Georgia
There have been many attempts around Georgia to remove Confederate flags and statues from public places, especially in 2023.
Atlanta met with friction over Confederate street names
An organization that represents families of confederate soldiers warns the city better get ready to go to court. The issue is that city council has signaled it wants to remove every street name that is tied to the confederacy. Some have already been taken down, but the Sons of Confederate Veterans vows no more.
RELATED: Confederate flag losing prominence 155 years after Civil War
In April, the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans refiled a lawsuit against Gwinnett County for the decision to remove a Confederate monument that once stood outside the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse. The group filed similar lawsuits in DeKalb, Henry Newton and Rockdale counties. They were all thrown out.
In June, the Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Lewis expressed his intent to have local street names linked to the Confederacy changed.
In October, the Sons of Confederate Veterans said it planned to sue the popular Stone Mountain Park for moving four Confederate flags that were placed near the start of the park's trail before Memorial Day Weekend that year.
The flags were moved to Valor Park, a smaller area closer to a monument that features a statue of a Confederate soldier and a bench.