Authorities speak outside Ebenezer Baptist Church where Confederate flags were found Thursday, July 30, 2015, in Atlanta. U.S. authorities are investigating after several Confederate battle flags were discovered near the church and a civil rights center named after Martin Luther King, an iconic leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Thursday morning. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (The Associated Press)
ATLANTA – Federal authorities and police are investigating after Confederate battle flags were found around the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.
The Rev. Shannon Jones of Ebenezer Baptist tells The Associated Press that police and federal officials were working to remove the flags Thursday morning.
Jones says several flags were discovered on the grounds early in the morning. He described them as being placed "all around" the area and appearing to be plastic flags with wooden sticks.
Jones says Atlanta police Chief George Turner was at the scene.
King once preached at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. That church is part of the King center, which is a National Park Service site. Nearby is a newer Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the congregation now meets.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
