A group of Confederate flag-waving protesters greeted the president as his motorcade rolled into downtown Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
This marked the end of his first day of a two-day tour of the state.
PHOTO (@dougmillsnyt): Protesters with Confederate flags greet Obama as he arrives at his Oklahoma City hotel pic.twitter.com/5NofYdi1wy
— TheBlazeNOW (@TheBlazeNOW) July 16, 2015
Earlier Wednesday, a group of Confederate flag supporters were out in force near Durant — two and a half hours away — for the president’s arrival into that town.
KFOR NewsChannel 4 reported:
The group was visible from the interstate as they flew several Confederate flags from their trucks and vehicles.
“We’re not gonna stand down from our heritage. You know, this flag’s not racist. And I know a lot of people think it is, but it’s really not,” said Trey Johnson, who drove three hours from Texas to join the protest. “It’s just a southern thing, that’s it.”
“I believe that it is a flag that should not come down. It is about history. It’s not about racism at all because both black men, as well as white men stood side by side. They fought together for the beliefs that they believed in. And this is our heritage,” said Stephanie.
Alyssa, a supporter of the group, said the group’s protest has nothing to do with the president, but rather a culmination of the events that have occurred in recent weeks.
The protesters told NewsChannel 4 that “90 percent of drivers were supportive of their protest.”
In the video below, a woman tells a source for The Frontier about a Facebook group called “Stand by the flag rally.” Obama was to give a speech at 5 p.m. about “expanding economic opportunity for communities across the country, including the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma,” according to the White House.
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