CHARLESTON, S.C.—South Carolina’s governor declared Monday that the Confederate flag should be removed from the grounds of the Statehouse, reflecting what she described as a new consensus that the slayings of nine black churchgoers has changed what the banner stands for.
Gov. Nikki Haley’s about-face comes just days after authorities charged Dylann Storm Roof, 21, with murder. The young white man appeared in photos waving Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags, and purportedly wrote of fomenting racial violence. Survivors told police he hurled racial insults during the attack.
“The murderer now locked up in Charleston said he hoped his actions would start a race war. We have an opportunity to show that not only was he wrong, but that just the opposite is happening,” she said, flanked by Democrats and Republicans, blacks and whites who joined her call.
