Black Lives Matter protesters confronted Confederate-flag supporters at a Sunday rally in Broward County, Fla., refusing to stand down in the face of what they call a symbol of hatred, the Sun Sentinel reports.
Hundreds of people supporting the contentious flag participated in a 15-mile road rally that extended from Plantation, Fla., to Sunrise, Fla., flying the battle flag from their vehicles. About 100 protesters showed up to counter the rally, chanting, "Black lives matter," "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "F—k your flag!" the Sentinel notes. Authorities kept the two groups a safe distance apart, but the Sentinel reports that protesters claimed that some Confederate-flag supporters waved a gun and a knife at them.
"They converge here to parade their symbols of hate," protester St. James Valsin told the news site. "It's not about screaming loud; it's about killing institutionalized racism."
According to the report, one demonstrator set fire to a flag. The flag was eventually tossed under the wheels of the departing vehicles.
Sunrise Police Officer Michelle Eddy said that the protests and rally were peaceful and that there were no reports of weapons at the event. Eddy said that before the event, officers had reached out to the organizers to prepare "extra personnel for the safety of everybody on both sides."
"I understand that the flag may be seen as a symbol of oppression," rally organizer Chris Nicolaus told the Sentinel. "But this is not about hatred. We are not the KKK. This is about Southern heritage."
Read more at the Sun Sentinel.