KKK, Black Panthers Rally at SC Statehouse After Confederate Flag Removal

It's being reported that both the KKK and the Black Panthers protested head-to-head on the steps of the statehouse in South Carolina on the very same day. The location of the protests was the very spot which was the site of the Confederate Flag removal earlier this month.

The black justice group protested over the weekend, with the Ku Klux Klan showing up later on, on the opposing side of the building.

The Huffington Post reports that the KKK was there to protest the removal of the confederate flag, which they claim does not represent hate, while the Black Panthers were rallying for justice. 

A report from CNN notes that one member of the KKK told the news organization, "The Confederate Flag does not represent hate. A lot of Americans died for that flag."

The crowd was an estimated 2,000 people, which was comprised of both KKK supporters and anti-confederate flag/black justice supporters. Per the report from HuffPost, five people were arrested and 23 needed some sort of medical attention, many of whom mainly needed the attention due to the immense heat during the day.

In fact, despite their indifferences, a photo of a black officer aiding a white supremacist after suffering from heat exhaustion surfaced on Twitter during the rally:

not an uncommon example of humanity in SC: Leroy Smith helps white supremacist to shelter & water as heat bears down. pic.twitter.com/GoF23r3mRe

— Rob Godfrey (@RobGodfrey) July 18, 2015

Check out some other photos from the protests:

SC State House #kkk rally pictures from earlier pic.twitter.com/kqKjdsjtwK — Regan Freeman (@ReganFreeman) July 18, 2015

Anti-racism activists gearing up to disrupt a planned #KKK demonstration outside the South Carolina State House pic.twitter.com/slf8aZjrMS — Manuel Rapalo (@Manuel_Rapalo) July 18, 2015

Readers, what are your thoughts on the above rallies? Let us know below.