Thousands rally to support Confederate flag; line of trucks, bikes snakes through Florida city
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thousands of people have rallied in central Florida in support of flying the Confederate flag.
Police estimated 2,000 vehicles, mostly motorcycles and trucks adorned with the Civil War-era flag, took part in Sunday's gathering in Ocala. The event was being held to back a decision by Marion County in that area of central Florida to return the Confederate flag to a display outside its government complex.
The Ocala Star-Banner reports (http://bit.ly/1HXBfeQ) participants wore shirts with phrases including "heritage not hate" and talked of defending Southern traditions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A replica of the General Lee car from "The Dukes of Hazard" TV show led the procession.
One of the participants, Rick Hart, defended flying the Confederate flag, saying "It's a history thing. The flag is also a military flag. It's not a race symbol."
The Florida rally came weeks after the shooting deaths of nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, that spurred a national debate about the flying of the Confederate flag. On Friday, South Carolina removed the flag from a flagpole near its Statehouse. The man charged in the Charleston shooting is shown in pictures with the Confederate flag and police say he was motivated by hate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meantime, in Congress, lawmakers are debating a measure to block the display of the flag at federal cemeteries.
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Information from: Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner, http://www.starbanner.com/