Their vote could come as soon as Thursday.
The flag could then be ceremoniously lowered for a final time as soon as mid-July, a month after the June 17 shootings of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney and eight of his church members at a Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. A white man, Dylann Roof, is charged with nine counts of murder. Police allege Mr. Roof was trying to incite a race war; he was also photographed often with the Confederate battle flag, and his car bore a vanity plate featuring the flag.
The flag’s removal from the grounds of the Capitol would bring a swift end to a debate that has been waged, often loudly, within South Carolina since the flag was raised above the State House dome during the civil-rights era. Supporters of the flag said it represented history and heritage, but opponents said it represented bigotry, and the effort to preserve slavery.
